Time for Us
by Chaotic Tai
Summary: Kai, Ray and Max have a lot of time to get to know each other now that Tyson and Kenny have girlfriends. Rated for the possibilities in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Tai:** So, I sat, typed, thought, typed some more and finally realised that I will not be able to cover this story in the space of one single entry without making somewhere near 10,000 words, at which point I'll get bored of it as one single file. So this is the first chaptered story I will have uploaded in a while; most of my recent new stories have been simple one-shots with the possibilities of sequels.**  
**

This story is a request from Oragne Spartans, and may be fairly long. I've spent some time debating the title of it; hopefully it's fitting. If anyone has better suggestions for a title just let me know. Characters may be a little OOC, but there's very few ways to write this story without making them OOC.

Disclaimer: Don't own beyblade, the characters or anything else you might recognise.

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Sparkling blue eyes focused on a pair of teens facing each other, their ruby and amber eyes focused on two spinning tops between them. In truth that's where the blonde's attention should've been focused; on the blue and grey beyblades, but their owners were far more…._interesting. _Their movements so precise and although it was only practice, both males seemed so serious.

To his left stood the ruby eyed male, his eyes focused on his deep blue blade, his dual toned slate hair waving slightly in the wind. The stoic male had his usual black shirt and pants on, but the jacket was discarded several hours ago in the heat; sweat causing the light fabric to stick tightly to his form.

'Focus Max, you're playing the winner.' The blonde told himself, shaking his head sharply. Only the three of them were at the Granger dojo practicing; Daichi had gone home to see his family, Kenny was out on a date with his new girlfriend and Tyson…

Well that was an interesting story. Tyson had been oblivious to Hilary's feelings for the last two years, and the brunette was getting cagey about it. It'd reached breaking point a week ago, when the girl snapped at him loudly and stormed off. Tyson had remained oblivious and asked the typical 'what's her problem?', which resulted in him getting a thorough, snappy and hard to ignore explanation from their team captain.

Needless to say Tyson made himself scarce and tracked down the girl to apologise for his stupidity before asking her out on a date. The pair had since been going out to dinner or lunch at least once every couple of days, which was thankfully calming the fierce brunette's temper. Unfortunately the sum total of these events left only three of them to practice their blading.

Max's attention returned to the two males, and he glanced over the amber eyed blader. His long black hair was bound tightly in his normal ponytail, and his white shirt was slightly damp, sticking close to his tanned skin. The sapphire eyed male was finding his attention wandering again; it wasn't difficult with the two well-toned males covered in sweat and their clothes clinging tightly to their chests and….

"Max! Come on it's your turn." Ray laughed, snapping the blonde from his thoughts, which was probably just as well. He and the neko-jin switched places while the ruby eyed male looked on, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde's apparent lack of response.

"Once we're finished we'll have lunch." The slate haired male stated, clipping his blade back into his launcher. Max followed suit and the pair waited for Ray to count down for them, before their battle finally commenced.

The ebony haired male took over observation duty; his teammate's attention now focused on their blades, the neko-jin was free to pay attention to whatever he deemed necessary about the battle. 'Kai must be sweltering in this heat; hell I'm baking and I'm not even wearing black.' The dark haired male thought, watching the pair. 'No wonder he's sweating. Max has the right idea; light coloured clothing, but he's still sweating a little…'

Ray shook his head; he'd spent far too much of his observation time staring at both males rather than watching their beyblading moves, luckily it hadn't bitten him in the backside yet. The battle concluded sooner than expected with the blue blade receiving a hard knock sideways, stopping the blade. The slate haired teen wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a sigh, clearly exhausted already. It was understandable; they'd been practicing for a couple of hours and the slate haired male hadn't had much of a break from the sun.

"Come on, let's head inside out of the sun and have some lunch." The amber eyed male stated, earning a grunt of agreement from the slate haired male. Max was still as bubbly as ever, bounding along ahead of the darkly clothed duo.

"Where the hell does he get all that energy from?" Ray wondered aloud, earning a smirk from Kai.

"The sun; he absorbs the energy through his hair." The slate haired male stated, earning laughs from both of his teammates.

It was strange; with the loud blunette absent most of the time, Kai spent less of his time barking orders and the stoic male had opened up somewhat. At the very least he'd begun to relax around the pair, though his ice cold exterior returned when the world champion did; something Max and Ray had come to call 'The Tyson Effect'.

"Kai, why don't you sit and have a bit of a rest, Ray and I can sort lunch." Max's cherry voice sang out from the kitchen, and neither of the older two males felt like arguing with the blonde. The dark haired male disappeared into the kitchen, while the ruby eyed male dropped onto the couch, letting out a sigh as he did so.

'I'm getting far too used to having these guys take care of me. I'm sure Tala and Spencer would take the piss out of me for going soft.' He thought with a wry grin, resting his head back against the furniture. 'Hell it's too bloody hot to be worrying about that; not that you'd know it looking at Max.'

Brushing a hand through his hair he let out another sigh. 'Maybe we should give up on training for the afternoon and just stay inside.' He pondered, a smile working its way to his lips as he listened to the two males clatter around the kitchen. 'Tala was wrong; who needs a girlfriend when I have these two.'

Kai mentally cursed at himself, realizing how Bryan would likely interpret the comment if he ever said it aloud. While it was true he had no interest in women, the only thing between him, Ray and Max was a friendship. The ebony haired male darted out of the kitchen briefly to place some plates on the table, grinning his catlike smile at the Russian before disappearing again.

'Hell Ray's soaked…not that I'm much better.' Tugging at the collar of his shirt, he realised just how damp it was and moved it without another thought, closing his eyes as he dabbed his forehead dry with the cloth.

Ray and Max had chosen that particular point in time to exit the kitchen, the sapphire and amber eyes slowly going over the pale skin that clearly defined the slate haired male's muscular form. As the ruby eyes snapped open both bladers looked away quickly, identical dark red blushes covering their cheeks. A familiar smirk resumed its place on the Russian's lips, curving the edges of the blue shark fins up slightly. 'Maybe Bryan's interpretation wouldn't be so bad.'

"Lunch ready?" he asked casually, coaxing the gazes of both males back.

"Ah…almost; it's just finishing cooking now." Max stated quickly, Ray nodding in agreement behind him. "I was thinking you might want go and get changed into something cooler or something if we're going to be training more this afternoon."

"Yea, considering how hot it is any everything…" the ebony haired male trailed off, unable to keep his gaze with their ruby eyed captain.

"I was thinking we should cancel training for the afternoon and just relax, unless you're both keen to stay outside in the sun?" He smirked as the pair seemed to trip over themselves to agree to a break, and the slate haired male stood, stretching. "Cancelled training it is then. So, lunch?"

Max's eyes went wide and he turned to head back into the kitchen, bumping into Ray briefly before getting into the kitchen to grab their lunch.

"Kai…are you going to put a shirt on for lunch?" Ray asked curiously, frowning at the male.

"Hm? Wasn't planning to." The slate haired male shrugged, settling himself at the table. "More comfortable without it."

Ray's blush returned faintly, earning a smirk from the Russian teen, and the Chinese teen joined him at the table. It didn't take long for Max to return with their lunch; a mixture of pasta, vegetables and some chicken that had been in the fridge. The trio ate in relative silence, occasionally asking questions to keep some form of conversation alive.

Kai leant forward against the table somewhat as he sipped his drink, enjoying the company of the other two males, glad he'd removed his shirt. They'd come inside just as the day had started getting hotter; both Ray and Max appeared to still be sweating somewhat even indoors, making the slate haired teen even gladder he'd actually removed his shirt.

"May as well get changed, or at least take your shirts off." Kai stated, eyes slipping shut as he sipped from his cup. "It's only going to get hotter from now, and I doubt changing into shorts will help much."

Ray and Max stared at Kai for a moment before glancing at each other, each clearly debating the merits of what their captain had said and whether or not it was actually an instruction they had to follow. The dark haired male seemed to agree with the idea and promptly stood, undoing his shirt and sliding it off onto the back of his chair.

If he realised both his teammates were staring somewhat he didn't show it, settling back into his seat as though nothing was different. Max soon found both amber and ruby eyes trained on him, watching curiously to see whether he'd follow suit or simply go and change.

The blonde gave in with a heavy sigh and quickly flicked off his shirt, not leaving his seat to do so which seemed to somewhat disappoint both of his teammates. A sudden thud somewhere near the entryway indicated Tyson was home, and the giggling indicated he'd brought Hilary with him. "Guys!"

"We're in the kitchen Tyson!" Max yelled back, he and Ray grinning like a pair of Cheshire cats as the Tyson Effect took hold, and their smirking captain returned to sourpuss mode.

"Hilary and I are going out tonight so I won't be home for dinner."

"How you stay world champion when you don't practice at all is beyond me, Tyson." Kai stated in his usual cold tone back in place.

The blue haired male laughed, stopping suddenly when a voice spoke from behind him. "Why are you three shirtless?"

All three males shared a brief glance before Ray spoke. "We've been training all morning out in the sun; shirts got soaked in sweat so we took them off." The neko-jin explained, focusing his gaze on the wall behind Tyson rather than anything else.

The brunette was staring wide eyed at the trio while Tyson mulled over the explanation, clearly finding it plausible given the weather. "Gramps isn't due home from his vacation until next month, so it'll just be the three of you and Kenny for dinner."

As if on cue Kai's phone rang, the captain answering within moments as he always did. "Hello?"

_"Kai, sorry to interrupt training but I thought I should let you know I won't be back tonight. Ming Ming and I are going out to a movie and she's offered to let me stay with her and the rest of the BEGA bladers so I don't wake you guys up when I get back. If that's okay I mean; I don't want to interrupt training anymore."_

"It's fine; we were just having lunch. We'll see you tomorrow Kenny."

_"Thanks Kai!"_

Hanging up the phone, Kai let out a brief grunt. "Kenny won't be back tonight either."

"Aww, so you can have a boy's night in bonding!" Hilary cooed, earning a snort from Tyson and a laugh from Max. "Well we need to get going Tyson, come on!"

"Right; later guys!"

Hilary was still grinning as she dragged Tyson from the house, the world champion still clearly surprised his girlfriend's suggestion wasn't met with more hostility from any of the trio. The door soon slammed shut and there was a moment's pause before Kai grinned, causing the blonde and black haired male to laugh.

"So boy's night in?" Kai questioned as the laughter died down, earning himself a pair of blank stares.

"Sounds fun." Ray grinned, Max blinking between the two of them.

"So what are we going to do?" Max asked, still confused as to what the two of them were grinning about.

"Well we could get to know each other a bit more." Ray stated, earning an almost terrifying grin from Kai.

"We could do that. I could also introduce you two to a lovely substance called vodka." The slate haired male stated. "You're both old enough to drink, and I have a lovely bottle Tala sent me last Christmas."

"Drinking and getting to know each other, sounds like fun." The blonde grinned, the ebony haired male letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, but no phones."

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**Tai: **Short, sweet and hopefully to the point. Review if you have any opinions thus far; there is more to come

"Right; later guys!"

Hilary was still grinning as she dragged Tyson from the house, the world champion still clearly surprised his girlfriend's suggestion wasn't met with more hostility from any of the trio. The door soon slammed shut and there was a moment's pause before Kai grinned, causing the blonde and black haired male to laugh.

"So boy's night in?" Kai questioned as the laughter died down, earning himself a pair of blank stares.

"Sounds fun." Ray grinned, Max blinking between the two of them.

"So what are we going to do?" Max asked, still confused as to what the two of them were grinning about.

"Well we could get to know each other a bit more." Ray stated, earning an almost terrifying grin from Kai.

"We could do that. I could also introduce you two to a lovely substance called vodka." The slate haired male stated. "You're both old enough to drink, and I have a lovely bottle Tala sent me last Christmas."

"Drinking and getting to know each other, sounds like fun." The blonde grinned, the ebony haired male letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, but no phones."

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**Tai: **Short, sweet and hopefully to the point.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tai: **Good news everyone, well sort of. Unfortunately I had a funeral to go to on Friday, and my way of dealing with such emotional occasions is to write, which is where the 'good news' comes in.

I am currently working on Chapter 4, and hope to have it finished sometime in the next couple of days. I'm currently aiming to have at least a chapter and a half finished before I upload a new one at any point in time. I don't want to upload chapters too quickly, as I may need to back track and change things or any other sort of changes. So I'm currently halfway through chapter 4, so you can expect semi-regular updates.

I'm thinking of updating on Mondays NZ time, which largely works out to be Sunday in the US I believe; so roughly a week between updates. I know this one is sooner than a week, but it seems weird to have two complete chapters and half of a third sitting on my laptop. Let me know what you think in a PM or a review, whether a week is too often or not often enough for updates. Anyway...

Advance warning: OOCness incoming.

Also note; I am aware that the legal age in Japan (which, in theory, is where they are) is 20, however in NZ it is 18, same with Russia and a few other places.

Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade or its characters.

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Max and Ray had already settled themselves into the lounge, talking about training that day and how frustrating the past few days had been with only the three of them there to train. It meant one of them was always just watching the other two bladed, and while it was a good way to observe another's style, it was rather boring. The day had continued to get hotter; none of the trio had bothered putting a shirt back on just yet. Undoubtedly it would get very cold later that evening, but for the moment it was rather relaxing to be half clothed.

"I'm glad Kai cancelled training for the afternoon, if it's this hot inside it'd be exhausting out in the sun." the ebony haired male stated, earning a nod of agreement from the blonde.

"If Tyson was training with us we'd probably still be out sweating in the sun." Max agreed, earning a laugh from Ray.

"No you two would be having a break in the shade while Tyson ran laps for missing training." The slate haired male stated as he joined the pair, a bottle of clear liquid in one hand and three glasses in the other. "We've got plenty to mix this with; I get the feeling it might be too strong for you two to drink straight."

"Oh and you can drink it straight fine?" the amber eyed male asked, raising an eyebrow.

The ruby eyed teen grinned. "I'm Russian, I can drink it fine." He stated, laying on a thick Russian accent that caused the pair to laugh loudly. "But seriously, Tala, Bryan, Spencer and I drink together rather frequently. You learn to handle your alcohol quickly with those three."

Both of his companions took several moments to compose themselves, breathing heavily as they finally stopped laughing. "I didn't know you could do that." Max laughed, glancing up at the male.

"Most people don't; the entire Russian team can do it, we choose not to unless there's a really irritating reporter or someone we don't want to talk to."

"I suppose it's a bit like me and the White Tigers speaking Chinese loudly when there's a group of annoying fans." Ray mused, earning a nod from the oldest of the group. "They know we speak English but they don't try and force the issue. I suppose you don't get that sort of luxury, Max."

"Mm, being from an English speaking country has its disadvantages sometimes." The blonde agreed, though his smile hadn't diminished any. "So what are we going to talk about?"

The Russian grinned and poured each of them a small drink of the clear liquid, handing a glass to each of the other males. "I'm open to suggestions." Taking a quick drink from his glass, he watched the pair briefly. "Just sip it, and then you can decide if you want to mix it with anything."

"We could discuss the fact that Kenny and Tyson both have girlfriends, whom they're out on dates with, while the three of us are sitting at home." Ray stated, holding in a laugh as Max coughed, the younger male having tasted his vodka. The blonde stood and headed for the kitchen, clearly keen to heed the older male's advice.

As Max returned to the room with a bottle of lemonade, the neko-jin regretted the giggle that had escaped as he took a sip himself, not fairing much better with the drink and causing the Russian to laugh briefly. "That's a depressing thought. Mr Oblivious and the geek have girlfriends and we're sitting at home keeping each other company."

The statement seemed to strike a note with the sapphire eyed teen as he looked at Kai, the curiosity there almost causing his eyes to shine brighter. "How come we've never seen you with a girl Kai? I've seen the rest of your team happily flirting with fans but you just brush them off."

Ray's attention turned to the ruby eyed male, who clearly registered he wasn't getting out of answering the question. It was similar to when the rest of his team had asked him; they'd easily outnumbered him and had stopped him from leaving his seat. They'd been drinking, and when three stubborn Russians stated 'you're not moving from here', they meant it.

It didn't take long for the youngest of the Russian team to give in, requiring a bathroom break rather urgently. So he'd given in, and the team had been somewhat surprised but they accepted it rather happily. Mostly they were pleased they'd gotten an answer so easily.

Ray and Max on the other hand were more likely to try and tickle the answer from him, or something just as childish, but none the less effective. He let out a sigh; it was too hot to deal with such things. "Tala and Bryan asked me the same thing. Truth is, I'm not interested in girls." He shrugged, finishing off his vodka.

"Seriously?" Ray asked, his eyes narrowed on the male.

"Seriously. Tala still jokes that I need a girlfriend to take care of me, by which he means cooking and cleaning for me. I find it amusing as his last two girlfriends haven't done either." The slate haired male stated with a wry grin, making Max laugh.

"I guess Michael was right then; there's one on every team." Max muttered, drinking his now mixed drink. "So who is it on your team Ray?"

"Wait, what?" Ray asked, bewildered. "One what on every team?"

"Oh one guy on every team that's gay." The blonde smile happily, making the Russian laugh.

"He's right about that. So Ray, which one of the White Tigers is it?" the ruby eyed male grinned, watching Max closely. The blonde had just downed the remainder of his drink, and passed his glass back to Kai. The slate haired male poured both of them another drink and passed the glass back.

"What makes you think there is one on every team? I mean we all know Oliver and Raul are, and Kai, but what about the All Stars, Max? And there's the BEGA team, the Barthez Battalion, the BBA team, Team Psykick and the Saint Shields." Ray argued, avoiding the question. "I doubt you know who it is on all those teams."

"Well I'm not sure about the Saint Shields or Team Psykick, but Mystel and Garland are both gay, Claude's gay, and so am I." Max stated, downing half of the vodka Kai had given him without mixing it with anything.

Ray's jaw dropped while Kai began coughing and spluttering, having been partway through swallowing his drink when the blonde had finished his statement. "Hell, never would've picked you Max." the slate haired male stated, finally catching his breath. "To finish your list, Kane and Ozuma are both gay. I suppose King and Queen are the exception, but they're not really a team."

The ebony haired male was still stunned, even as the blonde and slate haired males discussed it. "I suppose technically the BBA team is excluded, since Kenny and Tyson have girlfriends." Max stated, sipping his drink. "Daichi might be, but otherwise they're out. I suppose it balances out the fact that half of the Bladebreakers are gay."

A loud sigh sounded from Ray. "Three quarters." The male downed his drink and handed the glass to Kai, his amber eyes focused on the floor. "Hell if you two can say it I might as well. Rest of the team doesn't know; I haven't had the heart to tell Mariah."

The trio sat in silence while Kai poured all three of them a drink, ensuring he mixed lemonade with Max and Ray's. He waited quietly for one of the others to speak, and when neither did he let out a sigh. "So we're just three gay guys sitting at home alone, unsupervised, half naked and drinking vodka?"

The statement made Max giggle rather than laugh, possibly due to the amount of vodka he'd already had, and Ray finally looked up, smiling. "Up for going to a straight strip club?"

A moment of serious silence was broken by the trio cracking up laughing, an unfamiliar sound from Kai but something the duo welcomed. "So now what?" the blonde asked, still letting the occasional giggle escape.

"Well we're home alone at the Granger dojo." The neko-jin stated, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Why don't we go and give Tyson's wardrobe and room a _fabulous _makeover?" He put extra emphasis on the world fabulous, earning a snicker from both males.

Kai thought for a moment, and the grin they knew to fear from training suddenly surfaced. "We could." He stated, downing the rest of his drink. "Down your drinks boys, we have work to do."

Realising their captain wasn't joking, the pair did as they were told and attempted to stand, each stumbling as they got to their feet. Luckily for both, the slate haired male placed his arms in front of the pair, stopping them from falling over.

"Let's go!" Max cheered, bounding off down the hallway while Ray shook his head with a sigh, the disbelief in his features clear. Kai had gathered the alcohol and glasses, already disappearing off behind the blonde, and the ebony haired male rushed to catch up; he didn't want to be the next target of their makeover.

Entering the world champion's room, he found the wardrobe already open, with blonde happily removing clothes under the watchful eye of their captain, who was busy pouring new drinks. "Ray! Come give me a hand!"

Joining Max at the wardrobe, the pair removed the last of their blue haired teammates clothing and placed it on the bed, glancing over the array of colours. "So how do we decide what we let him keep?" the blue eyed male asked, picking up a yellow shirt and holding it against himself. "Do we just randomly pick things we think look hideous and put them in a pile?"

Kai walked over to the blonde and straightened out the shirt, ensuring it gave a rough estimation of what it would look like on. "Or we can take turns doing what you're doing right now Max and go from there." The slate haired male stated, turning as he felt the warmth of Ray's skin behind him. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking how did three self-respecting gay men let their teammate get away with wearing a bright yellow shirt for three years?" Ray stated as he reached past Kai, earning a grin from Max. "He's not keeping that."

"It doesn't look too bad with his red jacket or vests, over top of it." The sapphire eyed male defended, earning himself two raised eyebrows. "…you're right, it's horrible and nothing he owns matches it."

"Atta boy Max; don't suppress your inner fashion sense." Kai grinned, tossing the shirt over his shoulder. "Bryan, Tala and Spencer asked me to sort their wardrobes. They complained but they looked substantially better at the world championships."

Each of the trio grabbed one of the male's shirts, Kai firing the first he grabbed over one shoulder without a second thought, receiving frowns from both males. "Green with pink writing on the front; would you keep it?"

Both appeared to agree with the judgement and the pair looked at what they'd each grabbed; a plain black t-shit and similarly styled black one. Both were folded and placed neatly in a pile before Max and Ray were handed a drink each. All three took a sip before returning to criticizing their teammate's wardrobe.

"I can't believe we went out in public with him when he was wearing this." Ray stated, grabbing a familiar piece of red clothing off the bed. It was a long sleeved button-up bright red shirt; a shirt Tyson counted as some of his 'good' clothing. "It looks like something a tango dancer would wear."

"When it's buttoned up maybe, Kai hand me that black singlet." Max stated, pulling on the dark cloth and then sliding the shirt overtop, leaving it open. "It looks fine with something dark underneath when left open."

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Kai smirked, earning a wide grin from Max.

"Just one thing I think we need to do so he'll wear it the right way." Ray agreed, walking over to Max and systematically removing the buttons, along with the remaining thread. "There. Much better."

The trio grinned and the blonde removed the shirt, passing it to Kai who was already waiting with a coat hanger. Both amber and ruby eyes watched as the blonde tugged the singlet back off, although they made themselves busy quickly as the sapphire eyes re-emerged and the blonde handed the cloth to the oldest of the three.

As the slate haired male grabbed a deep green, button-up short sleeved shirt, he frowned. "Has he ever worn this?"

"No, thankfully, it's not his colour." The ebony haired male stated firmly, looking at the cloth. "It's not yours either Kai."

The slate haired male tossed it to the neko-jin, causing him to drop the orange shirt he'd grabbed. "Try it on."

Grumbling, the male slipped it on and moved to do up the buttons. "Well that might explain why he hasn't worn it; no buttons." He stated, fixing the collar. "It's probably more your colour Max."

"Nope, too dark for me; I look white enough as is. It goes rather well with your skin tone Ray." The blonde laughed, grabbing up the orange t-shirt. "This is more my colour."

"And you own pants that aren't orange?" the ebony haired male countered, shaking his head.

"Of course; I have black, green and blue as well."

Kai laughed, shaking his head. "You don't need any more orange, Max." The male flicked through another couple of tops before finding a lilac t-shirt and tossing it to the male. "Try that on."

"It doesn't go with orange!" the blonde defended, losing sight of the slate haired teen as Ray passed between the pair, digging through the shirts some more.

The ruby eyed male shrugged, sipping his vodka. "You can wear it with some black pants; you know it'd be wasted on Tyson." Max looked ready to argue some more, but realising what the third of their group was up to he made a show of giving in and pulled the shirt on.

"And I think it's time you expanded your colour palette to something more than black and dark purple Kai." Ray stated, tossing him a bright blue shirt. "Put that on; no arguing." Finishing his drink, he turned to see Max doing likewise while Kai slipped the shirt on.

"Not bad; it matches your paint." Max grinned, sorting through the remaining couple of shirts. They'd made two evenly sized piles of tops, one of 'he's not wearing that again', and another they'd decided the world champion could keep.

"How did your teammates respond to you clearing out their wardrobes?" Ray asked, settling onto the cleared space on the bed.

"Bryan was furious I threw out everything green he owned, his white pants, and most of his white t-shirts. Spencer lost everything purple; it's not his colour, neither is black, and Tala lost all of the dark colours from his." The slate haired male stated, grinning. "Bryan also lost a fabulous pair of leopard print pants, Spence lost a zebra print jacket and Tala lost his fluffy black boots."

Both males stopped and stared at him, trying to debate which part of the statement was the most unusual. Max was the first to speak up. "Tala had fluffy black boots?"

"Bryan had leopard print pants?" Ray stated, clearly trying to picture the sight. "Did he ever wear them?"

"More often than I'd care to admit." The Russian sighed, shaking his head. "The boots would've stayed if he'd had white or orange ones instead…actually I think he got a new pair after I told him that."

Both males laughed, trying to picture the serious Russian in such boots. "So what are we doing about that pile of pants?" Max asked, glancing at the remaining clothes.

"Toss anything that's not black or blue." Ray stated, already locating several unusually coloured pairs of pants. "Why does he have green pants? Nothing in his wardrobe even comes close to matching them!"

Kai and Max couldn't help but laugh at the comment, making the ebony haired male freeze. "I just said that didn't I?"

"You did, and it's a fair point." Kai smirked, grabbing the last pair of purple pants off the bed. "Go grab some bags to throw that stuff into, then we can get back to talking."

Ray wandered off through the dojo, checking the outer doors were all locked as he went. Reaching the kitchen, he grabbed one of the large plastic rubbish bags and headed back to Tyson's room to find Kai and Max had already folded the clothes into a neat pile. The trio stuffed the items into the bag, tied it shut and headed back to the lounge; Max carrying the vodka and glasses, Kai carrying the now full bag and Ray bringing up the rear.

"So that was a good use of a few hours." The blonde stated, settling down on the couch and returning the vodka to Kai. "What's for dinner?"

With all three settled back onto various pieces of furniture and grasping a fresh drink of vodka, the slate haired male thought for a moment. "We'll order in pizza. Saves us having to cook and it's probably safest at this stage." Although they'd had very little to drink, the captain wasn't willing to risk setting the dojo on fire.

It took a few moments to order the pizza, then the trio sat in silence once more, each wearing a shirt they'd claimed from Tyson's room. It appeared to be Ray's turn to start the conversation, and he looked between the pair. "Kai you've already told the Blitzkrieg Boys?" he questioned, receiving a nod from the Russian. "Max, have you told the All Stars?"

The blonde nodded. "Mmm, during the world championships Rick and Michael were trying to set me up on a date with any girl they could find. I blurted it out and stormed off."

"How did they react?" the ruby eyed male questioned, watching the blonde closely. The sapphire eyed blonde looked down at the glass in his hands, avoiding looking at either male.

The amber eyed male frowned as he watched the younger teen, concerned at how long it was taking him to answer. "Rick…Rick didn't want anything to do with me after that. He just flat out avoided me until Eddie and Michael confronted him about it. The two of them were fine with it; they didn't act any differently." The blonde stated softly, unaware of the concerned glances Kai and Ray were shooting each other. "Emily thought it was great; she finally had someone to talk to boys about."

A knock on the door startled all three, and Kai headed off to answer it, ensuring he grabbed his wallet on the way. Ray meanwhile shifted closer to the blonde and placed a hand gently on the male's arm for comfort.

"You two are on better terms now though, aren't you?" The blonde nodded gently. "That's good, and now you know you've got me and Kai to stand up to him if you need us."

The Russian returned on cue with dinner, and the trio settled down to eat, still continuing to drink vodka as they did so. As they polished off the pizza, Kai glanced at the bottle. "I think it's time we started some serious drinking and some serious getting to know each other." He stated, earning confused looks from both of his companions.

"Serious drinking?"

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**Tai: **Now, I know I have readers, so some more reviews would be nice :P


	3. Chapter 3

**Tai: **Omnomnom reviews *_*. I love reviews, give me moar!

*cough* Okay, serious time. So it's a shorter chapter than last time, but it just had a natural end sooner than I was expecting! If I add more it'll be...sorta forced, and I like the flow so far. Anyway, writing progress; I have chapter 6 complete! The issue I'm having is deciding on an ending point. If you have any suggestions on when I could end it, I'm all ears. I'm also open to any other suggestions you might have.

I got no opinions on when to update, so I'll update roughly when I feel like it, which is generally when the number of views/day drops down low. Hopefully by the next update I'll have chapter 7 finished up at least, hopefully with a start on chapter 8 IF it doesn't end in 7.

For those of you curious about today's update, my sister is adopting the cat of one of my friends, and I'm going to help pick up said kitty this weekend, and most likely I'll be playing with said kitty for a couple of days to help her settle. I could've waited a few more days to upload this, but meh, kitty :P

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin.

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Both the blonde and black haired males watched quietly as each was poured a fresh drink of vodka, theirs mixed with lemonade while Kai left his straight, handing each back their glass. "Take turns asking a question, and the other two have to answer. If you don't want to answer or can't, you drink."

"Sounds simple enough." Ray agreed, glancing over to see Max eyeing his glass cautiously.

"How much do we need to drink?" the blonde asked cautiously, glancing at the Russian.

The slate haired male pondered the question for several moments. "Just what you normally would if you were having a drink of something."

Both seemingly clear on the rules, the trio sat and thought of questions to ask, with the amber eyed male the first to voice one. "How many guys have you two hooked up with?" he asked curiously, one finger tracing the top of his glass.

"Seven, all of whom I picked up at bars." Kai stated bluntly, no trace of emotion in his voice. "Charles, Kyle, Brad, Jason, David, Jack and Alex." His startling ruby eyes glanced up at the blue eyed male, who seemed to consider things for a moment.

"Three, all of them named James." He finally stated, earning a laugh from the other two. "Never really thought about that before, but every guy I've dated was called James. When did you realise you weren't interested in girls?"

The oldest of the trio thought for a moment before taking a drink, shrugging when he realised both Max and Ray were looking at him with a frown. "Don't remember; it was quite a while ago."

Attention turned to the ebony haired male, who appeared to be seriously considering the question. "Just before I left my home town; Mariah was really interested in me and I…I was more interested in one of the guys in the next village over." He admitted, earning a nod from each of the other two.

"Who would you count as the most annoying person on your team? Excluding when we were Bladebreakers of course." the Russian stated, earning blank stares from both of the other males. "What? It's another thing every team has; one gay guy, one ridiculously annoying person and the token midget."

The amber eyed male continued to frown. "Who's the annoying one on your team then?"

"Bryan; not only does he sleepwalk and climb into other people's beds, he spends an hour in the shower in the mornings and brings the loudest girl he can find home at 3am, particularly when we have a match the next day." The ruby eyed male stated, earning laughs from the remaining two. "Didn't expect the Russian team to be so normal did you?"

Max didn't need to think long before answering. "Most annoying person on the All Stars would have to be Michael; he spends more time doing his hair than Emily and my mom combined, snores louder than Tyson and in the event he brings a girl home, there's normally two more." The blonde stated, shaking his head. "He's not selfish at least; he'll share with Rick and Eddie if they want."

Ray took a quick sip of his drink, shaking his head. "Not answering that one. What's your best memory from being a kid?"

The slate haired male took a quick sip as the blonde answered. "My dad teaching me about beyblading; my mom was still with us, and we were all really happy together. What about you Ray?"

It seemed the dark haired male didn't need to think about it. "When Lee and I were kids, we'd head out into the mountains around the village; we were fast enough that Mariah, Lee and Gary couldn't follow, so it was a place only the two of us went. We'd spend whole days there just talking, swimming, climbing trees, just doing whatever we wanted." He sighed, looking down at his drink. "We stopped going out there when we started beyblading."

"Sounds like a nice place." Max smiled, his grin growing wider suddenly. "What's your biggest fear?"

It was Ray's turn to avoid answering as he took a long drink, eyes fixed on Kai. Both were surprised as the ruby eyed male went to take a sip and stopped, placing his glass back down. "Claustrophobia." He stated, taking a drink anyway. "It's probably the one universal fear everyone from the abbey has."

"Lee's afraid of clowns; their makeup freaks him out. First time we went into town, there was a clown making balloon animals. Lee took one look at this guy, screamed and ran in the other direction." Ray stated, earning laughs from both Max and Kai. "What about you Max?"

The blonde took small drink, clearly more out of thirst than a desire to avoid answering. "Moths. Can't stand them, and Rick likes to tease me about it. Strangely he thinks that's weirder than a few of flowers." It was obvious both of the older males were trying not to laugh, and the blonde pouted indignantly, which pushed both over the edge. "At least I answered Ray."

Kai was the first to recover, still grinning. "Okay, have you ever worn women's clothing, and if so, what?" The reaction from Ray was almost instant, the dark haired male going bright red while Max sat thinking, before he took a drink. "Ray you're not getting out of this one."

The neko-jin let out a sigh, placing the glass he'd moments before moved to his lips back on the floor. "Lee and I got soaked out in the rain one evening, and we headed around to Lee's to dry off. The only dry clothes they had that fit the two of us were Mariah's…"

That was all he got out before the duo began laughing, and it was Ray's turn to try and pout, to seemingly no effect. "Oh and you've never been forced to wear pink." As the pair recovered, both shook their heads. "Fine. Who's the worst dressed beyblader and why? Let's exclude Tyson for this one, and Daichi."

"Well there's my top two gone." Kai shrugged, "Probably Michael; first world championships we competed in he was fine, but the most recent one he half-assed the baseball theme."

"Really? I would've said Ming Ming or Johnny." The blonde stated, frowning at the slate haired male. "Ming Ming looks like a badly iced cupcake, and Johnny has the same problem as Daichi."

"Fair point." Ray agreed. "Your turn Max."

The trio continued their round of questioning; covering topics from their strangest habit and their favourite foods, to less tame subjects such as how many people they'd slept with and their biggest pet peeve in the bedroom. Both Ray and Max had needed three refills since the start of questioning, while Kai had refilled his own glass only once. The amber and sapphire eyed male's drinks had started getting stronger after the first one, and if either noticed they didn't say anything.

With the dark haired and blonde males both sitting on half a glass of lemonade and vodka, and the slate haired male was sitting on roughly two shots of vodka left in his glass. Coincidentally, it was his turn to ask a question.

"All right, final question; if you don't answer you finish your drink." Kai stated, his ruby eyes hard, indicating there would be no arguing about it.

"And you're going to answer as well?" the amber eyed male confirmed, receiving a nod.

"All right, sounds fair." The blue eyed teen stated, both turning their attention to the captain.

The ruby eyed male glanced down at his glass briefly, clearly making his decision. "Who've you had your eye on, in terms of a relationship?" He questioned, looking into the eyes of both males. A moment later he downed his drink, placing the empty glass on the floor.

It appeared to be a sobering moment for both of the younger bladers, each staring at their drinks for several moments. Max placed his on the floor and moved to the nearby wall, leaning against it slightly as he headed out of the room. Both Kai and Ray watched him leave, frowning at the movement.

"Where's he going?" Ray frowned, turning his gaze back to Kai.

"Most probably the bathroom; he's the only one who hasn't been since we started drinking." Kai guessed, ensuring the top was tightly on the bottle of vodka. They'd managed to down slightly more than half the bottle, which was a rather impressive feat for three people.

Sure enough the blonde returned, still wavering slightly on his feet. He settled back into his seat and glanced at Ray. "Didn't miss your answer did I?" he grinned, still as bubbly as ever.

"No." the dark haired male admitted, looking back down to his glass. He hesitated for a moment before downing his drink as Kai had, coughing slightly as the vodka burned his throat slightly. "You made that stronger than the others."

"I did." The Russian admitted, smirking slightly. "Max?"

The blonde waited another moment before doing likewise, none of the trio wanting to answer the question. "Suppose that's a first." The blonde stated, earning nods of agreement from the other two males. "How about one more?"

Kai did as requested; pouring enough vodka into each glass to fill the bottom quarter of each glass, and the trio recollected their glasses. "So Max, what's the deal?" Ray asked, both he and Kai watching the blonde.

"The way I see it there's three reasons none of us answered; the answer to Kai's question is someone else in the room, you don't want anyone else to know, or ." The blonde explained, none of the trio moving as he spoke. "So my question is, is the person you have your eye on another beyblader?"

"Same rules as before?" Kai asked, Max shaking his head.

"No, that's no fun; we'll just all drink again." He grinned, the smile sending a chill down both Kai and Ray's spines. "Instead, you either answer honestly and finish your drink, or drink three times what's in your glass."

The trio paused briefly, each considering their options. The blonde had definitely made things much more difficult than they were initially; drinking would mean downing near three shots, answering could narrow the pool of potential crushes for all three.

All three settled their minds and raised their glasses, unable to look at the others.

"Yes."

All three downed their drinks and glasses her placed on the floor, the trio sitting in silence for several moments afterward as thoughts raced through their heads.

Through his almost drunk haze, Max looked up at the two males, both of whom seemed to be trying to realise what their simultaneous agreement actually meant. "I think we should probably all go to bed, we have training tomorrow don't we Kai?"

The blonde's cherry voice seemed to shake both of the older males from their thoughts, the captain clearing his throat. "We do indeed." He agreed, slowly standing. He offered a hand firstly to Ray, who stumbled slightly as he reached his feet. Ensuring the dark haired man was steady, the Russian turned to Max, easily pulling the blonde to his feet.

The youngest of the trio wasn't as steady, falling forward to land against the blue cloth covering the older male's chest. "Easy Max." he stated, placing his hands firmly on the blue eyed male's shoulders. "You all right?"

"Fine." The blonde mumbled, although clearly unable to stand up unaided.

The Russian avoided rolling his eyes as he glanced at Ray. "Can you walk on your own?"

"I'll be fine." The male stated, heading toward the door. "Want me to go ahead?"

The slate haired male nodded as he pulled one of the blonde's arms over his shoulders, ensuring the male was roughly stable before bending slightly to pick the male up. It didn't take much before all three were headed down the hallway; Ray leaning against the wall, Kai carrying Max while the blonde tried to form a protest.

When they reached the room they'd been staying in, both Kai and Ray groaned. They hadn't set out their bedding for the night, and none of the trio really felt like doing it. Moving over to the pile of blankets, the neko-jin laid two of the bedrolls onto the wooden floor and pulled three of the thinner blankets over.

Max was already starting to doze in the captain's arms, the youngest of the trio barely keeping his eyes open. Kai let out a sigh and settled the blonde on the bedrolls, stifling a yawn as he leant down and retrieved the younger male's beyblade, wallet and anything else he found in his pockets.

The black haired male had already emptied his own pockets, and flicked the green shirt off to one corner of the room before moving over to Max, gently tugging the lilac fabric from the drowsy and drunk blonde. It too was fired off to a corner of the room, and Kai returned to the make-shift bed to check on the younger males.

"Think you might've made those drinks a bit strong, Kai." Ray yawned, his amber eyes glancing at the blonde male squirming around on the blankets in an attempt to get comfortable. Settling himself down beside the blonde, he pulled the younger male's head gently into his lap, running a hand gently through his hair to calm the male.

Ruby eyes watching closely, Kai realised that Ray was swaying back and forth slowly, his last drink of vodka starting to affect the male. "Probably; I'm used to drinking with Tala and Bryan." the slate haired male admitted, grabbing the pillows from the pile of blankets. Settling himself down behind Ray, he draped a blanket over Max and another over the neko-jin. "Training tomorrow is cancelled I think."

Ray took the opportunity to lean back against the Russian teen, his hand still moving slowly through Max's hair. "That's probably a good plan." He yawned, his head dropped against the slate haired male's shoulder. Soon enough Kai's hand was running gently through Ray's hair, the amber eyed male struggling to keep himself awake.

The sapphire eyed teen had already dozed off, and Ray felt their captain give a small chuckle. "He looks adorable asleep, doesn't he?"

"Yea…and almost as peaceful as you look asleep." Ray agreed through a yawn, sliding down into a more comfortable position. He soon joined the blonde in slumber, Kai slowly stroking the hair of both males as he too began to doze.

It wasn't long before he too fell asleep, the trio remaining cuddled together as they slept.

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**Tai**: There's the chapter. Remember, suggestions on an ending AND I love reviews. There's three chapters on my laptop, tempt me :P


	4. Chapter 4

**Tai**: Greetings all! I know, I waited more than a week before updating again, shocking isn't it? Nah not really...I just kinda started writing chapters for other things and started another story and sort of...forgot to actually put a new chapter live on the weekend.

Updates on this may be a little slow, but be assured that it is finished! At least I think it is. I also thought that about four days ago and then re-read it and thought 'no that's a lazy way to end it', so I added another hundred or two words. I'm still humming and hawing over the ending; I like it but it seems to be missing something.

Regardless, if you have any requests for me let me know; whether it's just suggestions of random things to put into this story or a request for a full new story. If it's a request for this story just put it in your review :P

Also a big **thank you to all my reviewers! **I like reviews, they give me that warm fuzzy feeling ^_^

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Max squirmed slightly as he started to awaken, receiving a small grunt from somewhere above his head. 'Don't wanna wake up. Head hurts.' He thought, throwing one arm over his eyes and incidentally causing another grunt. It was then he realised that his pillow didn't really _feel_ like a pillow; it wasn't as soft, didn't feel like fabric, it was warmer and breathing. The blonde male froze, trying to put together the pieces of exactly who he was sleeping next to and why, mind racing as he tried to remember the night before.

'Right…Hilary jokingly suggested we have a boy's night in because Tyson and Kenny were both going to be out. Kai agreed after she and Tyson had left, and added vodka to the mix…we gave Tyson's wardrobe a makeover…head still hurts…' the blonde listed, feeling some brief movement above him. An arm he'd failed to notice around his waist tightened slightly, and the blonde managed to avoid jumping at the movement, his mind sent racing again.

'We finished doing a makeover of Tyson's room…had pizza…answered some embarrassing questions.' And it finally dawned on the blonde. 'I asked them if they had a thing for another blader, and then Kai had to carry me to bed because I couldn't stand up…then he put me down and Ray sat down next to me, meaning it's probably Ray…'

Sapphire eyes opening, he held in a gasp as he spotted the black haired male directly opposite him, using the opposite side of their captain's chest as a pillow in a similar manner to himself. It was an odd feeling; he was certain the neko-jin was the one he'd been resting against and that their captain had likely slunk off to his corner of the room to sleep.

Glancing over at the other slumbering male he noticed Kai's other arm, seeming paler than normal, wrapped around the tanned waist of the Chinese blader. The dark haired male looked peaceful, and Max closed his eyes again. 'I wonder when he moved.'

Ray meanwhile was going through a similar thought process, although he already knew who he was utilising as a pillow; he was more concerned about where their young blonde teammate had disappeared to. He'd fallen asleep sitting upright against Kai, and he already knew he was now laying down on the bedrolls. Amber eyes opened slightly as he heard a grunt from the Russian male, and he quickly spotted the young blonde.

Incidentally, he could also see why the oldest of the group had grunted briefly; Max had managed to dig his nails into the centre of the male's chest. Moving slowly, he ran his hand upward to rest it under the blonde's, stopping him from repeating the movement. He felt Kai's grip around his waist tighten briefly, and he closed his eyes once more, hoping to get a few more moments of sleep.

Kai, it seemed, had the same idea. Acting as a pillow to both teammates, he could feel their small movements and was already aware that both were awake, although they both seemed rather content to stay where they were. Glancing over at the watch he'd left near the bedrolls, he checked the time.

'Seven in the morning, why can't they wake up this early when we have training.' He thought with a sigh, closing his eyes again. Pulling both the blonde and dark haired male closer, he decided he'd attempt to get a few more hours sleep. 'It's not likely I'll have both of them this close again.' He mused, enjoying the warmth.

It seemed only a few moments later he opened his eyes; a small but familiar sound catching his attention. A glance at his watch indicated three hours had passed already, and his mind slowly registered the small sound again. 'That sounds like a cat…'

Glancing down, he noticed that Ray had begun purring slightly in his sleep, one hand grasping Max's, which was resting on Kai's chest, while Ray's free hand was grasping his wrist rather tight. He still had an arm firmly around both males, and similar to Ray, Max had gripped it rather tightly to ensure it wouldn't move. He stayed still, waiting for some indication they were once again awake, as they had been earlier.

It didn't take long before Max began to stir slightly, burrowing his head against the arm on Kai's chest to cover his eyes against the incoming light. The movement pulled Ray's arm from its comfortable position on the centre of Kai's chest to a new position closer to the blonde, who had settled back in to sleep.

The dark haired male gently tugged their joined hands back toward himself, mumbling slightly in his sleep. The slate haired male held back a laugh as Max repeated his own movement, followed by another attempt by Ray. "How much longer are you two going to lie there and pretend to be asleep?" Kai finally asked, making both males jump. The ruby eyed male laughed as both the amber and blue eyed males glanced at each other across his chest.

"How long have you been awake?" the neko-jin finally asked, mentally debating if he really wanted to let either of his teammates go.

"'Bout five minutes; I was waiting for you two to wake up before I said anything." The slate haired male stated, his gaze returning to the roof. "Were you two having fun playing tug-of-war with your hands?"

The comment made both males blush furiously, and each released their grips on both the slate haired male and each other. All three sat up, still shirtless from the night before, with a dark blush covering both Max and Ray's cheeks, the pair refusing to look toward the Russian or each other.

"How's the heads?" he pondered, unsurprised when both of the pair buried their faces into their hands. 'Well at least they're not completely grumpy and refusing to move, unlike Bryan after he's been drinking heavily.' He mused, stretching slightly.

"Well I'm going to have a shower; the leftover Pizza is probably still in the lounge if you two are hungry." Kai stated, standing so he could head off toward the bathroom. The blonde male reached up and snagged the male's pants gently, although his gaze hadn't shifted from the floor. Ray had done similarly, managing to snag one of the belt loops on his pants.

The slate haired male glanced down at the two; Max on his left, Ray on his right, each looking down and away from the team captain. His gaze shifted between the two, unsure of how to react to the sudden movement. 'I wonder if they're both still a little tipsy…' he wondered, watching the pair quietly. None of the trio moved until Kai sat back down with a sigh of defeat, running a hand through his hair.

Both male's relinquished their grasps on the ruby eyed teen's pants, though their stares didn't move from the wooden floor. "I'm not explaining to Tyson why we're all shirtless and there's only one bed set up." The Russian stated finally, earning a small giggle from Max, prompting a laugh from Ray. All three were soon laughing, the younger two finally looking up.

Ruby locked on to sapphire and amber for several moments, the slate haired teen cocking an eyebrow hoping one of the pair would explain their sudden urge to stop him from leaving to have a shower. It was quickly obvious that neither intended to explain, although the blonde was happy to come up with a new topic instead.

"So who's telling Tyson that we attacked his wardrobe?" Max asked curiously, looking at the pair.

"I don't think we should tell him; he can find out when he goes into his wardrobe." Kai stated, earning a smile from the blonde.

"We should probably donate that bag of clothes before he gets back then." Ray agreed, all three already picturing what the male would likely do if he found out the clothes they were trying to get rid of were still in the house.

"We can do that after we've eaten; we can have a day off training." Kai stated, earning nods from the pair. "Now, I actually do need to have a shower, if I'm allowed to." He smirked, the blush returning to the faces of both males. Before they could react, he stood and headed off toward the bathroom once more, disappearing down the hallway.

Both Max and Ray let out a sigh, somewhat startling each other. "I'll pack up the blankets and everything if you want to go and eat." The dark haired male stated, receiving a sharp nod from the blonde as he stood and left the room. With the younger male out of sight, the neko-jin dropped his head into his hands.

"What the hell was I thinking? Grabbing Kai's pants to stop him from leaving, I'm an idiot." He groaned. "I know Max and I were comfortable sleeping with him…next to him…but hell I couldn't even look at them after I stopped Kai from leaving." Shaking his head, Ray stood and started folding the blankets, still silently cursing himself.

It didn't take long to restack the bedding in the corner, as neatly folded as they had been the previous evening. Tugging his hair free from its binding, he ran a hand through it briefly. 'Definitely need to have a shower; I should probably have breakfast first though…'

Wandering out into the kitchen, he found Max pushing a piece of reheated pizza around a plate, clearly deep in thought. "All right there Max?" he questioned, glad when the blonde didn't jump as soon as he spoke.

"Mm, just debating whether or not I need to have a shower." Max stated, although the neko-jin was almost certain it was a lie. "Pizza's in the oven warming up."

Ray headed into the kitchen and collected some pizza for himself, almost dropping the plate as he returned to the dining room to spy a towel clad slate haired male. Kai had clearly finished his shower and was standing in the hallway door, glancing between the pair. It was the first time he and Max had seen the male's hair flattened against his head; "Bathroom's free if either of you need a shower."

He didn't wait for a response, leaving as soon as he'd said his piece while Ray and Max stared after him briefly. The dark haired male moved to join the blonde at the table, glad to see the younger male had finally stopped pushing his food around the plate and was finally eating it instead.

"You'll be finished before me Max; go have a shower once you're done." Ray stated, taking a bite of his own meal. "I'd probably take longer in the shower than you; I need to wash my hair."

A snort from the door made Ray and Max jump, turning to see a fully dressed Kai walking in, his towel draped around his neck. "I suppose at least you've stopped washing it at night. Do you want us to wait for you so we can take Tyson's old clothes down to be donated?"

"Why is it a good thing he stopped washing it at night?" the blonde asked curiously, finishing his piece of pizza. A groan from Ray made Kai laugh, and Max felt he was missing out on something.

"Remember back in our first world championship attempt, you, Tyson and Kenny all got a single bed each, while most of the time Ray and I were sharing a bed." The slate haired male stated, earning another complaint from the neko-jin. "The three of you were already asleep; Ray went and had a shower just before bed. Of course he left his hair out, and it was soaking went when he climbed into bed."

"Kai got into bed after me, and unfortunately my hair saw fit to soak both sides of the bed." Ray finished, Max giggling happily at the mental image which completed itself.

"So that's why you only have showers in the morning now?"

Ray nodded as he continued to devour his pizza, Kai returning with his own plate. "After I ended up with a wet ass most of the nights we were in America, I told him he could sleep on the floor if he was having a shower before bed." He stated, cutting up his own make-shift breakfast.

Both of his teammates found themselves staring at the slate haired male, or more specifically his face and the lack of blue shark fins on the pale skin. Max jumped slightly as he realised the ruby eyed male was staring curiously back at him, one eyebrow raised. "I'm going to go have a shower." He stated quickly, holding himself back from running out of the room.

Kai's attention turned to Ray, who in turn returned his attention to his food before speaking. "It's just a bit weird seeing you without the paint and scarf." He admitted; the Russian smirking at the comment.

"Maybe I should listen to Tala one day; last time I left Russia he suggested I take off the paint, leave my scarf behind, get a haircut and change my wardrobe to something other than dark purple." He stated, taking another bite of pizza. "He was convinced no one outside the Russian team would recognise me."

Laughing at the idea, the neko-jin shook his head. "You'd have to do more than that for me to be unable to recognise you. Probably for Max as well." The darker haired male admitted, somewhat surprising the slightly older teen. "I doubt Tyson would recognise you right now."

The comment earned a small chuckle from the Russian. "You're probably right about that." Despite the fact he was wearing the same belt, shirt and pants he always did and should've been plenty recognisable for their largely dense teammate, the world champion was sometimes not the most observant.

The pair finished eating in silence, Ray disappearing off to the shower as soon as Max reappeared to sort the dishes, while Kai sat silently at the table. It was becoming increasingly obvious to the American that their team captain was pondering something, although what he wasn't sure.

"Kai?"

The ruby eyed male looked up at the blonde, still clearly distracted. "Hm?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ray and I were talking while you were in the shower; Tala's said before a wardrobe change, haircut and getting rid of signature items of my wardrobe is all it would take for people other than the Blitzkrieg Boys to be unable to recognise me." He stated with a small shrug.

"Not true; I'm sure I'd still recognise you." The blonde argued, earning something between a smile and a smirk from the older male.

"Ray said the same. It did remind me that I was thinking of getting a haircut."

The giggly blonde returned to the mood the rest of the team was used to, laughing and bounding over to the formerly stoic captain, who was seated at the table. He happily draped his arms around the older male's neck, grinning widely. "Is that all? You had me worried it was something serious!" he laughed, Kai grinning back at him.

"And who says me getting a haircut isn't serious?" he replied, turning his head slightly to look at the blonde.

The blue eyed male considered the idea before laughing, his gaze moving to focus on the older male. "Haircuts aren't serious." He grinned, blushing faintly when he realised how close his lips were to the older teen's.

Ray reappeared silently, his hair still loose and dripping on the floor slightly on the floor as he walked, blinking at the pair who seemed rather comfortable together, and incredibly close. "Not wearing your scarf or paint today, Kai?" he questioned, running his brush through his hair.

"Not tying your hair up today, Ray?" the slate haired male fired back, the blonde laughing at the exchange. All three of the males were largely wearing their usual clothes, minus jackets other overly warm items of clothing.

Max finally detached himself from their team captain, his blush still faintly present on the pale cheeks as he finished clearing the table. Ray had stood watching the pair for several moments before speaking, and he still wasn't sure what, if anything was going on. 'Kai didn't hesitate to carry Max to bed last night, and Max was hugging him for almost no reason…is there something going on between them?' he wondered, settling himself at the table.

'But then Kai didn't even know Max was gay, so there can't have been something going on before last night, and we all woke up around the same time this morning. I wasn't even in in the shower that long….' He pondered, still slowly brushing his long hair. 'Maybe they just have a thing for each other and-'

He jumped as his thoughts were interrupted by a cool hand removing his brush from his hand, the amber eyed male looking up to see Kai had moved to stand behind him. "At the rate you're brushing, Tyson will be home before we get rid of that bag of clothes." He stated, starting to run it through the neko-jin's hair.

Several moments of silence passed before either of them spoke again. "What were you thinking about?" Kai asked softly, the tone somewhat foreign to hear from the Russian.

"Nothing." Ray lied, gaze dropping to the table. The slate haired Russian continued to run both his hands and the brush through his hair, with the black haired male resisting the urge to lean back into the touch.

"It wasn't nothing, I've known you long enough to be able to tell when there's something bothering you." The Russian stated, gently working a knot free from the long black hair. "What is it?"

Ray sighed; Kai had used his 'captain voice', which meant he wasn't going to get out of answering the question. "I was just….wondering if there was something going on between you and Max…" he trailed off, gaze dropping back to the table.

"Because he was hugging me when you got out of the shower?" Kai finished, earning a small nod from the Chinese blader. He let out a sigh of his own. 'I wish, but that would mean I could choose between the two of you, and I've been trying to make that choice for the last year under the assumption you were both straight.' He thought, somewhat wishing he could say it.

"There's nothing going on between us Ray." he stated, although he was certain he hadn't managed as neutral a tone as he'd hoped. Finished running the brush through the long hair, he set it on the table and moved to return to his seat, barely spotting Max leaning against the wall next to the kitchen door.

Sighing, he changed objectives and headed into the kitchen, placing a hand gently on the blonde's shoulder. "And you're wondering if there's something between me and Ray now, right?" he asked gently, unsurprised when the younger male nodded. Shaking his head, he steered the male into the dining room. "Honestly if I didn't know better I'd think you two were jealous."

The comment made both males blush, Kai smirking at the reaction. "Come on, grab your shoes, I'll grab the bag of clothes and we'll head off." Both males took the opportunity to make themselves scarce, their captain chuckling as he collected the bag and headed out the front to wait for the pair.

It didn't take long for the pair to reappear and meet up with Kai, the trio heading down toward the shops. Max and Ray made conversation as they walked, their captain chipping in when he could though he largely remained silent. As they stopped to cross a road, the blonde turned to the oldest of the group, grinning happily.

"Can we get ice cream on the way home?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Tai: **Okay general warnings; unexplained randomness, OOCness and the Tyson effect.

Now that those are out of the way, and for those of you curious; yes, I am still debating over whether or not chapter 7 will be the final chapter. I'm sort of tempted to keep going; in fact I might. Advance warning; it will be a while before chapter six appears; I'm moving cities for university this coming weekend, and the following week my courses start. My aim is got get at _least_ a B+ in both courses, so I'll need to focus on them. Rest assured, I will still write.

Onto the chapter!

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Kai couldn't help blinking at the request; Max wanted to stop and get ice cream on the way home, and for once he couldn't justify saying no. Generally Tyson was the one to ask after he'd spent the entire day complaining about training, so it was an easy denial. The remaining two Bladebreakers however were a different story; they didn't complain about training and they'd expected they'd be training today, only for their captain to cancel it. That and they hadn't once complained about the headaches he was almost certain they had.

Checking his pocket to ensure he had his wallet, the Russian sighed. "I suppose, on the way home." The blonde celebrated happily as he bounded across the road and disappeared out of sight, Ray and Kai chuckling at the movement. "You might as well go and catch up to him; I'll be along soon."

Ray nodded and sprinted after the blonde, glancing over his shoulder briefly to see the slate haired male disappear into the crowd behind him. Turning his attention back to following the blonde, he let out a sigh as he spotted the male settled on a bench, apparently having stopped to wait for the two.

"Where's Kai?"

"He said he'd catch up shortly." Ray responded, joining the blonde on the bench. He hesitated before voicing something that had been slowly gnawing at the back of his mind since he'd seen the youngest of the group embracing the captain. "Max…do you…have a thing for him?"

The aforementioned blonde blushed. "What makes you ask that?" he asked quickly, trying to brush it off.

"That wasn't really a _no_."

"It wasn't a yes either!" the blonde tried to defend, although it was quickly obvious the amber eyed teen wasn't buying it. Giving in somewhat, he checked down the street to see if Kai was approaching. "It's…complicated. I sort of like him, but there's someone else I sort of like as well…"

"I know that feeling." The dark haired male mumbled, standing and heading toward the slate haired male as he reappeared in view. "How's your head?" Max groaned at the question, earning a smile from the neko-jin. "'Bout the same as mine then."

Glancing between the pair, the Russian sighed. "The ice cream place is back two blocks; the shop we need to drop these off at is four blocks away."

"Well let's go!" Max exclaimed, almost heading off ahead of the pair before he stopped and turned to the oldest of the group. "That's not too heavy is it Kai?"

The ruby eyed male shook his head and continued on, both the blue and amber eyed males falling in to step beside him, resuming the random conversation they were having before the blonde had requested ice cream. It didn't take as long as they'd expected to reach the shop, and while Kai dropped the clothing off, Max found himself fascinated by Ray's hair.

"Have you ever braided your hair Ray?"

The question bewildered the neko-jin as he sat blinking at the male. "No…can't say I have…"

"Can I try when we get back to the dojo?" the cheerful blonde questioned, tilting his head to one side. "I watched Mystel braid his once and it looked like fun."

Ray sat blinking at the male for several moments, processing the request. "You just want an excuse to play with my hair don't you?"

Max avoided his gaze. "…maybe…."

"Play with your own!" Ray shot back.

"But yours is longer!"

Kai stopped dead as he walked over to his teammates, not entirely sure he'd just heard that argument. Finally convincing himself he had heard that phrasing, he glanced between the two, hoping there was some tamer context than what his mind was thinking. "What are you two arguing about?"

"Max wants to play with my hair." The neko-jin stated, moving so that Kai was between the pair. He pulled the long black strands forward over one shoulder, running a hand through them slowly.

The aforementioned blonde frowned as a relieved look passed over the captains face. "Why are you so….oh…" His bright blue eyes widening as a blush crept back onto his face, realising how dodgy the conversation must've seemed taken out of context.

"Come on you two, I'm treating you to ice cream, remember?" Kai sighed, heading back down the street. The blonde bounded along, sliding up to the slate haired male's left, while the neko-jin stayed on his right, stilling eying the blonde warily.

The cheerful blonde sped on ahead a short way, and turned to look at his teammates, finally appreciating how different the duo looked without some rather signature pieces of clothing. Ray's long black hair was completely loose and had been flicked back over his shoulder, seemingly less concerned the blonde would try and play with his hair as they walked.

The change to Kai was more substantial; his scarf was gone, as were the painted fins they'd been so accustomed to. The resulting effect revealed just how bright his eyes were, and how sharp some of his features were, the blonde walking backwards slowly as he took some time appreciating his fine features.

'They look good together.' He thought, somewhat sadly as he realised if the duo got together he wouldn't be able to have either of them, something that he found rather disheartening. He couldn't decide between the pair himself; if he had the option he'd happily take both, but if they got together he could live with it. Kai was right; he wasn't the jealous type.

Max soon found the pair had caught up, and dropped back to walk alongside the older teens, pondering his romantic dilemma. To his right walked two teens; the Bladebreaker captain who had previously been stoic and serious, and the Chinese blader who was always wise and easy to talk to. Both were attractive in their own ways, but neither could grab his attention more than the other.

As they crossed yet another street, Kai stopped suddenly, glancing between the pair. "Up for a race?" he smirked, something that looked slightly different without the blue paint.

"What kind of race?" Ray asked curiously, while Max was already happily bouncing up and down on the spot with excitement.

"Just a straight run; we have another three blocks to go back towards Tyson's, and then we need to turn off onto a side street to get to the ice cream parlour." The slate haired male explained, both males listening intently. "I propose we run the next three blocks, and count that as training for the day."

"Sound fair." Ray agreed, while Max nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion.

"Who gets to count down?" the blonde asked curiously, sharing a glance with the other two.

"All three?" Ray suggested, earning a nod from the captain.

"Three….two….one…go!"

The trio started racing down the street, each picking their own path through the foot traffic as they moved. Kai easily raced ahead of his teammates, making it across the street before both of the other two. Two blocks later, the oldest of the three teens stopped and turned to watch Ray and Max catch up with him.

The two had needed to stop a block back due to the traffic, and were jogging next to one another as they covered the last block. 'They look good together.' He mused, a small smile working its way onto his lips. 'I'd be lucky to end up with either one of them…hell they'd be a better match for each other than me.'

The pair came to a stop just in front of Kai, still grinning as widely as they had been when he suggested it. "Were you two even trying?"

"I was until I lost sight of the back of your head." The dark haired male stated, looking at the blonde. "Then Max caught up to me at the edge of the second block."

The blonde shrugged. "You're both faster than me; I had no shot at winning." Max grinned at the pair and headed off down the side street. "Now hurry up! We have ice cream to get."

Following the blonde's lead, Ray and Kai headed off down the street for their frozen treat, something they were all looking forward to given the heat of the day. Max was bouncing up and down in front of the ice cream shop as his slightly older teammates walked to catch up.

"He's almost like a hyperactive puppy." The dark haired male mused, earning a chuckle from his slate haired companion.

"If he was a puppy he wouldn't have gotten that far ahead of us due to leash laws." The ruby eyed male replied, earning a sharp feline grin from the male. "You'd probably still think him cute though."

Ray almost tripped over his own feet at the comment, amber eyes wide at the comment. "What makes you think I think he's cute?"

"Besides the very roundabout way you just tried to deny it? The way you look at him. What's holding you back from asking him out?" the ruby eyed male smirked, gaze turning to the sapphire eyed blonde.

"Ah..." the neko-jin hesitated in his answer, "there's someone else I sort of like as well, and I think Max has eyes for someone else."

The blonde was jumping up and down, waving the entire time, trying to get the attention of the two males. "Fair enough; we'd better hurry up before he decides he's in charge and we're not getting anything." The slate haired male laughed, jogging to reach the male.

"Wait, Kai aren't you paying?" the darker haired male frowned, none the less jogging after him to finish catching up to the blonde.

"Come on Ray! You'll miss out on ice cream if you don't hurry up!" Max called back to him, grinning happily as the oldest teen finally stopped beside him. The dark haired neko-jin sighed; seemed like the blonde was indeed in charge of them for the afternoon, as bizarre an idea as it was.

Stopping just in front of the duo, he looked between the blonde and slate haired males. "So when did you decide Max was in charge for the day?"

"About when I agreed to the idea of getting ice cream." The Russian shrugged, heading into the small shop. Max ceased his bouncing and followed, Ray bringing up the rear. Soon enough the trio were standing in front of a counter with a large array of ice cream flavours, and Max's bright blue eyes grew wide at the sight.

"Order what you want-"

"Really?" Max's excitement interrupted the slate haired male, prompting a small chuckle from Ray.

"Really."

If the blonde could've jumped on the counter, the neko-jin was fairly certain he would've as he darted from one end of the counter to the other. The rapid movements seemed to startle the gentleman behind the counter, although he managed to keep a smile in place.

As the blonde looked between his options for flavours and ice cream sizes, both Kai and Ray requested a two scoop ice cream cone. The dark black haired male opting for plain chocolate, while the slate haired teen opted for caramel and vanilla.

Glancing over at Max, the pair held in a laugh as the blonde finally made his decision, getting four scoops with chocolate, strawberry, caramel and hokey pokey. His grin widened as the frozen treat was handed over, and he was quickly led from the shop by Ray while their captain remained behind to pay.

"You think there's any chance we can get Tyson kicked off the team?" Max asked curiously, starting to devour some of his ice cream. "I like this new Kai."

"I'm sure we could convince Mr D that the world champ should have his own new team. Or Kai could justify kicking him from the team because he's been missing training." Ray agreed with a grin, earning a chuckle from the captain as he joined the pair.

"You two are getting far used to me relaxing with Tyson gone." He smirked, earning a grin from the pair as they continued back toward the Granger dojo. "I can almost hear Bryan and Tala telling me I've gone soft."

"Aww Kai, you know you love us!" Max grinned, earning a chuckle from Ray.

Kai seemed to ponder the statement before grinning. "True." Remembering both had had headaches upon waking up, he glanced between the pair. "I take it your heads are feeling better?" he questioned, receiving nods from both males which he counted as a good sign. "Good; I was thinking your hangovers might still be causing issues."

"Nope!" All three were still devouring their ice creams as they reached the Granger dojo, a familiar voice drifting over the outer wall.

"They should be here training!"

"And cue the Tyson effect…" Max grinned, Ray stifling a laugh as their captain returned to his more stoic attitude, which really didn't fit with the menacing shark fins missing and the male holding an ice cream.

Heading in the gate, the cheerful blonde struck up a conversation with Ray, their slate haired captain moving back slightly to walk behind the pair. The world champion clearly heard the pair talking and raced around the yard to greet them. "Max! Ray! Where were you guys?"

Max's grin widened as he held up his frozen snack. "We went to get ice cream!"

The stunned silence from Tyson spoke volumes, the male struggling to accept the facts quite clearly in front of him. "Kai took you to get ice cream?" he confirmed, earning nods from both Ray and Max. "What about training?"

"Cancelled for today." Kai stated, starting to move around toward the back yard. "While you've spent the last week with your girlfriend, we've spent the last week training."

The blue haired male stood gaping like a fish, his gaze jumping between the stoic captain, the black haired neko-jin and back again, clearly struggling with something. Hilary soon appeared at his side, her gaze flicking over the same pair briefly before she glanced at Tyson. "Tyson snap out of it!"

"But…Kai's not wearing his face paint...or his scarf...and Ray left his hair down…" he stated slowly, still unsure of which one he needed to focus his gaze on.

I know!" The blonde stated happily, "Don't they look hot!"

Hilary's jaw dropped at the comment, while both of the aforementioned males turned to their blonde teammate, each raising an eyebrow.

Max blinked back at them for several moments, still grinning happily despite the questioning looks he was receiving. "What? You do." Deciding he was done with the matter, the blonde carried on to the back of the house, returning his focus to his ice cream cone.

The remaining four watched him leave, though Tyson soon followed his bubbly blonde friend out into the backyard, leaving Hilary with the two slightly older teens. The trio stood in relative silence; Ray and Kai finishing their ice cream cones while Hilary got over what she'd just heard. "Did Max just say you two look hot?"

"Yup." Ray stated, looking at the brown haired girl.

"And you're not surprised by that?"

Kai glanced at the girl for a moment. "Nope."

"When did you find out that he was…you know?"

"Gay?" the slate haired male finished for her, receiving a small nod.

"Last night, he told us." The black haired male answered, grinning.

"When?"

"After I told him and Ray, but before Ray told us." Kai replied, smirking somewhat.

She stood stunned for a moment, mouth dropped open. "All three of you are gay?" Hilary asked, regaining her composure and looking between the pair, who nodded. "I can honestly say I did not see that coming. I just thought you three were pickier with girls. Does Tyson know?"

"Nope; I don't even think he really understood what Max said before he wandered off." The black haired male admitted, earning a grin from Kai. "You should work on that denseness."

The trio started heading around the back, Kai still smirking. Reaching the final corner they had to turn, the oldest of the group suddenly stopped and turned to the brunette. "Before we forget; Tyson's wardrobe has had a brief makeover. Try not to act surprised."

The comment was seemingly cryptic and neither male gave further explanation as they headed around the corner, finding Max settled happily settled in the shade of a tree finishing the remains of his ice cream cone. Tyson had seemingly disappeared, although considering the blue haired male's room was on this side of the house it seemed rather obvious where he likely was.

Sure enough the blue eyed male had his attention turned toward the world champion's room clearly anticipating something entertaining. The slate haired male walked over and settled himself against the trunk of the same tree. "How long's he been in there?"

"He just headed in a couple of minutes ago." Max informed them, finally done with his ice cream. He turned his gaze on the amber eyed male, who let out a sigh and seated himself in front of the blonde. "I think he's looking for one of his yellow t-shirts."

"So…the three of you gave my boyfriend's wardrobe a makeover…what did you do with the clothes you decided he wasn't keeping?" the brunette asked, dropping to sit on the grass.

"Went and donated it; that's where we were going initially when I asked Kai if we could get ice cream." Max grinned, slowly separating the long black strands of Ray's hair into three bunches.

Hilary nodded at the news, clearly pleased. "And what did you get rid of?"

"All his yellow t-shirts, some weirdly coloured clothes that wouldn't be very flattering on him, any of his pants that weren't black or blue…just largely things he shouldn't have had in his wardrobe in the first place." Ray informed her, earning several nods from the woman.

"Well he was always the worst dressed out of the team, with any luck it'll tidy him up a bit." The brunette admitted, glancing over at the neko-jin. "Why is Max braiding your hair?"

"He thought it'd be fun."

"Ah."

All four sat quietly waiting for some sort of noise from Tyson's room. The blue haired world champion stomped out of his room and headed into the rest of the dojo, clearly becoming frustrated about something. Sure enough an irritated yell sounded from the dojo, and Tyson reappeared, looking at the four.

"Have you guys seen any of my yellow t-shirts? I can't find a clean one anywhere!" he admitted, clearly annoyed by the development.

"Nope." Ray replied, trying not to laugh or move, not wanting to interrupt Max's plaiting.

"Haven't seen them." Max chirped, clearly pleased with how well his task was progressing despite having never braided hair before.

The ruby eyed teen didn't bother looking up. "Hn."

"Why don't you wear something else Tyson? I'm sure you have plenty of other things to wear." The brunette reasoned, holding back a laugh as the world champion tried to pout.

"But I can't find any of my yellow t-shirts!" he argued, clearly distressed by the issue. "I had six in my wardrobe and now I can't find any."

Hilary stood and headed over to her boyfriend, smiling gently. "Maybe you should give up on the yellow t-shirts? I mean you've been wearing them for the last what, three years? I think it's time for a bit of variety."

The world champion looked ready to argue when the girl kissed him, silencing any protest. "Okay, I'll go change."

As the male disappeared from sight once more, Max, Ray and Kai all let out a laugh, clearly amused by the situation. "I think that went rather well." Ray stated, earning agreement from the rest of the yard's occupants. "Are you almost done, Max?"

"Done now!" the blonde chimed, letting the thick band of hair drop back against the male's back.

Hilary moved to settle back under the shade of the tree, letting out a relieved sigh. "I'm kind of glad you warned me about that before he started freaking out."

"Ray, stand up and let us have a look." Kai commented, his ruby eyes trained on the amber and blue eyed males. The neko-jin complied, allowing the trio to look over the braid for several moments before turning around. "It suits you."

"It does." Max agreed, Hilary nodding alongside the blonde.

Ray blushed at the comment, piquing the brunette's interest. "Is there something going on between you three?"

Identical blushes worked their ways onto both Max and Kai's faces, the pale pink tinge no longer hidden by blue paint as it normally was on the stoic teen's face. It seemed like all three had similar thoughts racing through their minds as the two seated males refused to look at her, while Ray stood there silently.

"Well?"

It seemed Tyson had almost perfect timing as the world champion came darting out of his bedroom, glaring at the brunette. He'd managed to find a dark blue t-shirt, had kept his red jacket on and was sporting black pants. "Did you get these three to go through my wardrobe? Everything's been rearranged!"

The blushes of all three disappeared, and the ruby eyed male glared at the woman in silent warning, giving the brunette very few options. "Yes; you're the worst dressed on the team Tyson and I gave Ray, Max and Kai a list of things to remove from your closet." The girl lied, the blonde and black haired males thankfully not letting out sighs of relief. "They got rid of everything last night."

"But the yellow looked good under my red jacket!" the blue haired male whined, earning slight cringes from the other four.

"No, it didn't." Hilary stated firmly. "It looked horrible, and that last yellow t-shirt will be going missing while we're gone." She glanced at Kai, who nodded his agreement at the statement. "Now we need to go and meet up with Kenny and Ming Ming for our double date."

The brunette's firm tone left no room for argument, the blue haired male surrendering from his complaints. "Right…I'll see you guys later."

As the couple disappeared from sight, Ray let out a sigh clearly relieved they'd somewhat dodged a bullet with Hilary. The neko-jin however wasn't as easily distracted, as he looked between the pair, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Why did you two blush when Hilary asked if there was something between the three of us?"

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**Tai: **I hesitated on uploading this chapter as it really is the 'point of no return' for me. Well okay, maybe it's not in everyone's opinion, but for me it really is, so if I wanted to change some major things in the story, I had to hold this chapter. However I couldn't think of a better way that was less..._sappy_, so I'm happy with it. Review and let me know :P


	6. Chapter 6

**Tai: **Prepare yourself for some OOC moments! Yup...that's about all I really have to say about this chapter. I've decided that I will be continuing on past Chapter 7; I'm extending that one and there will be at least a chapter 9. Don't get your hopes up much past that.

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The slate haired male and blonde both sat in silence, neither daring to look at the dark haired neko-jin. After several moments of nothing being said, the male caved in. "Look, I already know that you two have a thing for each other; who's the other guy you're not willing to drop your feelings for?"

Startled, the ruby eyed male looked over at the sapphire eyed male to find him staring back. 'I don't know how Max feels about Ray….but I can't just drop my feelings for him.' The slate haired male decided, trying to mentally apologise to the blonde.

Max looked back, a similar debate going on in his head. 'I know I've always sort of liked Kai; Ray was always easier to like because he was easier to talk to. Hell he talked to me and Tyson, which was great, and Kai was always Mr Sourpuss, but he was interesting and exotic. Since he started relaxing around us he's just as likeable as Ray, and even if you're telling me to I can't just pick Kai over you Ray.'

"Well?" the black haired male asked, trying not to glare at the pair relaxing against the trunk of the tree.

"You."

The sudden and simultaneous answer from both males stunned Ray, and his legs seemed to collapse as he dropped back onto the lawn. "Oh…"

Both Max and Kai were equally stunned, staring at one another, neither one expecting the same answer to come from the other male. Kai seemed to recover first, his gaze turning to the ground while he pondered the situation.

'Max and I just admitted to liking Ray, Ray ousted my feelings for Max and Max's feelings for me…the only thing, then, that's stopping me from having both of them is how Ray feels about me.' The ruby eyed male turned his attention to the startled neko-jin, who was still sitting silently on the ground.

'I don't want to be the one to say it, but they already know how I feel so I might as well say it myself.' Letting out a sigh and making peace with the idea in his own mind, he looked up once more and glanced between the pair. "Max, Ray." He started, ensuring both were paying attention. 'Gods, I really hope Tala and Bryan don't find out about this; they'll never let me live it down.' When both had their eyes trained on him, he continued. "I've spent longer than I'd care to admit liking both of you.

"Over the last year and a half I tried to make a decision, and until last night I was convinced you were both straight, and hell even thinking that I couldn't force myself to choose." Kai mentally started swearing at himself; the whole emotional thing wasn't his style, but it was necessary. "Last night I got to have both of you for a short while, and hell I want that again."

Ray remained silent, somewhat stunned at the sudden outburst of emotion from their previously stoic captain. He sat quietly contemplating the male's words, glancing over at Max trying to gauge his reaction, despite already knowing how the blonde felt.

Max was quicker to react to the slate haired male's emotional admission, and the blue eyed male effectively pounced on Kai, seating himself next to the male and wrapping his arms around his waist, resting his head on his shoulder. The movement startled the ruby eyed teen, but Kai none the less wrapped and arm around the younger teen's waist.

"Ray, when I admitted to you I liked Kai, but hadn't told him because I liked someone else, you told me you knew that feeling." The blonde stated softly, his bright blue eyes slipping closed. "Kai can't choose between me and you, and I can't choose between him and you. I don't want to have to…"

The deep red eyes glanced at the amber eyed male, who was sitting processing their words. The blonde seemed nervous about what the black haired male would say, tensing up to the point that Kai started running a hand gently through short blonde locks to try and relax him.

The dark haired male looked at the couple and let out a sigh, still barely believing the pair had said what he'd heard. Kai's attention turned fully to the blonde, who'd kept his eyes shut. Ray stood quietly and crept over to the pair silently, pouncing on the duo and wrapping his arms around both as they hit the grass.

He couldn't help grinning at the yelps of surprise he received as they ended up flat on their backs, Max partially on top of Kai with Ray atop both, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Burying his face into Kai's chest the best he could, the neko-jin let out a content sigh. "I'm glad….I don't have to choose either."

Kai smirked, wrapping an arm around the dark haired male. "Good."

Max appeared just as pleased, and the Russian teen soon ended up stuck beneath both males, the blonde half-pouncing the neko-jin, who was still fully atop Kai. The trio remained quite content in silence on the ground for several more moments, before the slate haired male spoke up.

"As comfortable as you two are, it's getting a little difficult to breathe underneath both of you." He stated, laughing as the duo released each other and slid onto the ground either side of him.

Max sat upright and looked at the pair, tilting his head curiously to one side. "Does this mean we're…together now? Like a couple but with three people?"

"Mmhm." Kai agreed, pulling Ray with him as he sat up.

"I have a question then; how do three people…you know…kiss…" The dark haired male asked, trailing off slightly. He'd started the question confidently but halfway through he was already blushing a deep red, pressing his forehead to the slate haired male's chest in an attempt to hide it.

Kai pulled the blonde back against him as he thought about the question; kissing one person was simple enough, but now that he had both Max and Ray he didn't want pick one of the other in that respect. It would be the easiest was however, at least until they came up with something that made it easier.

"We could just…take turns." Max stated slowly, voicing the thought that had just crawled through all of their minds and prompting a blush to appear on the faces of both slightly paler males.

Glancing between the pair, the ruby eyed male let out a small sigh before tilting Ray's chin up, forcing the amber eyed male to look at him. He hesitated for a moment before gently pressing his lips to the neko-jin's, startling the dark haired male. Moments later he pulled away, smirking at the surprise still clear in the bright amber eyes.

Turning to Max, the ruby eyes locked onto bright blue for a moment before he pulled the blonde in close and claimed his lips, just as he had done Ray's. Releasing the blonde, he was slightly surprised to watch Ray lean across his chest and kiss the blue eyed male, seemingly fond of the idea after Kai had made the first move.

Soon enough the black haired male released Max, and the pair were pulled into a tight hug against the Russian's chest. "I think taking turns will work." He smirked, earning wide grins from both males.

"Definitely." Ray agreed, allowing his eyes to slip closed as he rested against the slate haired male, legs curled up alongside one of the slate haired male's thighs.

Max opted for a slightly closer position as he moved to follow suit, sliding himself into the older male's lap before resting his head against one shoulder. "You make a good pillow, Kai." The blonde mumbled happily, the black haired male nodding slightly.

Kai let out a small chuckle, glancing down at the pair. "Must be; neither of you wanted to wake up this morning." Running a hand through the hair of both males, he pulled Max sideways slightly to make things slightly more comfortable for himself. "Still comfortable, Max?"

"Mmhmm." He mumbled, burying one hand into the slate haired male's shirt and linking the other with Ray's.

The neko-jin opened his eyes briefly and looked at the blonde, glanced up at the slate haired male and then decided to move slightly, sliding up into Kai's lap opposite Max. The oldest of the trio grunted slightly at the movement and shifted briefly to accommodate the black haired male, causing both males to yelp briefly.

"I take it we're not going anywhere for the rest of the day then?" the Russian asked, unable to see what his two boyfriends were doing, although he could tell they had moved to look at one another.

"No." the pair agreed as they resumed snuggling against his chest, making Kai sigh.

"We'll need lunch eventually."

"Nap first, lunch later." Ray stated, earning a nod from Max.

Wrapping an arm firmly around both males, he let out another sigh and surrendered. "All right; you win, I'll wake you up later."

No sooner than the words left his mouth both males were dozing lightly, clinging to his shirt and one another. Allowing himself to relax, Kai leant his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of both males perched in his lap.

* * *

The slate haired male was roused from his sleep by a somewhat familiar sound, and inwardly he groaned, not wanting to open his eyes. 'Hell, don't tell me that was a dream and if it was fuck it all I'm not waking up again.' He decided, finally opening his eyes to locate the source of the sound.

Once again it was the black haired neko-jin purring as he slept, he'd moved from leaning against his chest to lie on the grass, using his thigh as a pillow. Max had done similarly, both arms wrapped rather tightly around his knees with his head resting opposite Ray's.

'They are far too adorable when they're asleep.' He mused, running a hand through each male's hair. Max's grip on his legs tightened slightly as his hand moved free of the short blonde locks, while Ray gripped his pants, still purring. 'Wonder what the time is…' Frowning, the ruby eyed male suddenly realised his wallet and cell phone weren't digging into his thighs.

'Okay I know they were in my pockets when we sat down, hell I had to move Max slightly so my wallet stopped digging into me, and had to move again when Ray was on my cell phone. They're definitely not there now, so where are they?' he wondered, glancing down at the happily slumbering pair.

'I don't really want to wake them, but Kenny and Tyson are going to be back tonight and I have no idea what the time is.' He thought with a sigh, gently shaking the shoulder of both males. The dark haired male took a swipe at his hand, trying to remove it from his shoulder, while the blonde stirred briefly before nuzzling Kai's thigh and returning to his sleep.

"Come on you two, we're not sleeping outside tonight." He muttered, shaking both again and receiving a similar response from the duo. Deciding that he'd have to wake them one at a time, and with Ray purring and dribbling as he napped, the slate haired male turned his attention fully to the blonde.

"Max...Maxie, wake up." His voice was almost a purr as he alternated running a hand through the short blonde hair and shaking his shoulder. Soon enough the sapphire eyes fluttered open, glancing up at the ruby eyed male.

"Kai?"

The slate haired teen smiled as the blonde yawned, finally releasing his legs. "Mmhmm. Any idea where my wallet is?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow as the male reached into his own pocket and produced the item.

"It was uncomfortable to lie on." He admitted, earning a grin from the slate haired teen. His attention turned to the amber eyed male, who was still purring happily. "Ray purrs?"

"And dribbles." Kai laughed, watching as Max eyed the neko-jin curiously. He shook the slumbering male's shoulder, attempting to rouse the male. "Ray…Ray…"

Max joined in on the attempt to awaken the dark haired male, placing a hand on the small of the Chinese teen's back. "Ray-Ray, wake up." He chimed, jumping slightly as he swiped at both males.

Finally he yawned, the amber eyes opening and already fixed in a glare, which he shot at both males. "I wanted to sleep more." He grumbled, causing both of his boyfriends to chuckle.

"Well Tyson and Kenny are meant to be back tonight; if you want to keep sleeping you'll be in charge of explaining why I'm suddenly a pillow." Kai stated, the neko-jin muttering more under his breath before sitting up. "I take it you have my cell phone?"

The black haired male nodded and fished it from his pocket, finally allowing the slate haired male to check the time. A sigh escaped him as he realised how late it was, but his attention was soon captured by his boyfriends who took the opportunity to kiss his cheeks.

"You sigh too much Kai." Max stated, frowning at the male.

"He's right; it's like there's always something troubling you." Ray agreed, causing the slate haired teen to roll his eyes.

"Well we've missed lunchtime well and truly; it's already three." He replied, glancing between the pair. "Since training's cancelled, what are we doing until Kenny and Tyson return for dinner?"

"Watch a movie?" the blonde suggested, his mind already thinking of the snacks that would accompany the chosen time waster; popcorn, chips, chocolate…really anything they could find to eat.

"Sounds like fun." Ray nodded, standing to head inside. Max soon joined him and the pair grinned, sending a chill down the Russian's spine. "We'll sort snacks; you get settled on the couch." The neko-jin instructed, and the slate haired male had to hold in a sigh.

"Am I going to be a pillow again?" he questioned, looking up at the pair. Both males nodded at the question and headed inside, discussing what snacks they'd have and what movie they were going to watch.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, smiling to himself. "They're definitely cuddlier than I thought they would be." He mused, standing and stretching before following them inside. "Wouldn't have them any other way."

By the time the Russian made it into the lounge, Ray was placing a movie into the DVD player and Max was bringing food in from the kitchen, including a bowl of chips and two bottles of soda. As the television flickered into life, Kai dropped himself onto the couch, lying down to occupy the entirety of the soft surface.

Ray darted from the room briefly, clearly remembering something he needed to grab, while Max turned to the slate haired male, clearly puzzling over where to sit with Kai occupying the couch. Receiving a raised eyebrow from the male, the blonde opted to straddle the Russian's lap and kiss him, somewhat surprising the older teen.

The black haired male returned to find the pair in the middle of a rather passionate kiss, a small growl escaping the neko-jin as he headed over to the pair. When Max finally released the slate haired male, his lips were claimed by the amber eyed teen leaving Kai to watch the pair silently. They broke apart quickly, the blonde having had little time to catch his breath, and the ruby eyed teen pulled Ray down into a kiss.

It wasn't long before Ray had the same issue as Max, pulling away from the slate haired teen who smirked at the pair. "Well now that we've gotten that out of the way, what are we watching and who's sitting where?" Kai asked, sure the pair had already decided such things on their way inside.

"We're watching Finding Nemo." Max grinned, his gaze flicking over to the television to check if their movie had started. Luckily it was still on the selection screen, and the black haired male grabbed the remote so they could start the movie once settled.

It was obvious the blue eyed male was rather comfortable being perched across the Russian's lap and the neko-jin didn't really want to disturb the pair. Kai seemed to have fewer issues with disrupting Max, glancing up at the blonde. "Max, hop off for a second."

The American was happy to comply, standing alongside their Chinese teammate while the slate haired teen emptied his pockets and slid up the couch slightly, his back coming to rest against the arm rest. Sitting upright, he looked between the two. "Ray, come sit down." He suggested, getting slightly confused looks from both males.

None the less the black haired male complied, seating himself sideways on the couch in front of the ruby eyed teen. He yelped briefly as the male wrapped both arms around his waist, pulling him back until he felt the Russian's chest behind him. With several swift movements the braid in his hair was undone, and Ray found himself lying back against Kai's chest.

Max seemed to approve of the arrangements and moved a bowl of chips into the reach of both males before moving to straddle Ray's lap, lying down on top of the dark haired male. With all three comfortable Ray lifted the remote to start the movie, pausing briefly.

"What's the plan if Tyson and Kenny come home?" the neko-jin questioned, earning a thoughtful 'hmm' from Kai.

"Max drops onto the floor, you sit at the other end of the couch, I sit up." The captain stated, thinking of the easiest and fastest movements they could make if they suddenly heard the missing pair.

Satisfied with the plan, the movie was started and the trio settled into a comfortable silence to watch. Soon enough their pile of snacks disappeared as the movie progressed, all three relaxing happily to the point where Ray began dozing off once again. Kai began absent-mindedly running a hand through the short strands on the top of the neko-jin's head, Max giggling briefly as the male began to purr.

As sea turtles filled the screen, Ray jumped upon a familiar voice reaching his ears, startling both Kai and Max slightly. "Ray?"

"I thought I heard Tyson…" the neko-jin muttered, wide awake from the sudden startle. All three listened carefully, and sure enough the normally loud male could just be heard over their movie.

The blonde slid onto the floor without another word, allowing the black haired male to throw himself over to the other armrest on the couch, leaving the slate haired male to sit up. All three focused their attention on the screen; the ruby eyed Russian attempting to look somewhat bored by the movie.

It seemed their movements were just in time, as the blue haired world champion and short brunette entered the room, glancing over at the trio. "See Chief? I told you training was cancelled today!"

"Okay fine Tyson, but really we've both missed it far too much lately." The bespectacled male stated, glancing over at their team captain. "Isn't that right, Kai?"

"He's right Tyson, and to make it up you two are in charge of cooking and cleaning for the next three days, on top of practice." The slate haired male stated, turning to look at the pair. "You can start with tonight."

"But I have a date with Hilary tomorrow!" the blue haired male argued, seemingly distressed by the idea of having to cook for the team and do the dishes.

"Tyson just because you're the world champion doesn't mean you're guaranteed a place on the team." Kenny informed him, the Russian returning his gaze to the movie. "You have to earn your place just like me, Max, Ray and Daichi."

"He's right Tyson. Mr D made Kai the team captain; he gets final say about who's on the team and who isn't." Max agreed, looking at the pair briefly. "If he says you're off the team, that's it, unless you want to bring it up with Mr D."

"But you've missed just as much practice as me, Chief, and Daichi's missed more than both of us!" Tyson argued, clearly clutching at straws to defend his position on the team.

"Daichi asked Kai if he could take time off training to visit his home village." Ray stated, amber eyes still focused on the television. "Kai might scare the hell out of him, but he still asked."

A smirk appeared on the aforementioned male's lips. "Kenny's called me to ask if he can miss practice as soon as his girlfriend makes plans for the two of them, which is generally the night before. You, Tyson, are the only one flaking on training without permission."

The world champion stood staring at the trio, mouth agape as he realised just how deep in it he was. Surrendering to their reasoning, the blue haired male turned toward the kitchen. "Come on Chief, we should probably start on dinner, and I need to tell Hilary I can't make lunch tomorrow."

The duo left the room without another word, although Kai was almost certain the taller of the two was attempting to come up with an argument that would allow him to keep his date. He didn't particularly care as he and Ray all let out sighs of relief, a sharp contrast to the giggling blonde on the floor.

The amber eyed male tilted his head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "That was far too close."

"You look funny when you're trying to be serious in a hurry Kai." Max grinned, earning a chuckle from the neko-jin.

* * *

**Tai:** Okay I'm far too pleased with myself; I managed to get three people together, which is honestly a first for me. Writing a story where they're already together was seemingly easy enough (see Accidents) but getting them together is so much more challenging. Also I'm well aware that it was well off the Kai spectrum of emotion, but the alternative was them sitting there in an awkward silence until someone else came home.

Welp hopefully you liked it, review with comments, ideas or suggestions please ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**Tai: **Okay I have to admit this is probably the most boring chapter of the story; no Kai/Max/Ray alone time really, but I felt the chapter somewhat needed. I mean there's only so much time I can send Kenny and Tyson away for, right?

Right.

Also; beware the Max.

* * *

The remainder of the evening was rather uneventful; Kenny questioning Max and Ray to find out if they'd done any special training over the past few days, seemingly glad he hadn't missed anything important. Tyson was still attempting to work his way out of training, quickly irritating Kai to the point he stood and left the room. When the slate haired male finally returned he handed his cell phone over to the blue haired male, who went slightly pale upon speaking to the person on the other end.

The conversation didn't last long, and it became obvious quickly who the slate haired male had called; the world champion's girlfriend. He soon stopped his complaints and joined the short brunette in questioning what they'd missed over the past couple of weeks.

"So battles and drills…were all three of you battling at the same time?" Tyson questioned, making the blonde blink. "You know, like a three way battle?"

"No, we took turns; whoever was sitting out battled the winner of the match." He explained, the amber eyed male nodding in agreement. "Unless you won three in a row, which was the other switch over point."

"It stopped one of us from getting too tired because they didn't lose." The neko-jin explained, both he and Max grinning.

"Sounds like that last rule was made for me; Dragoon and I would've been winning all day!" Tyson grinned, causing Chief to turn his gaze on his computer.

"Not necessarily Tyson; I'm guessing there's another rule you two haven't mentioned." The brunette stated, looking between the two. "What was it?"

"No bit beasts or spin gears." Kai informed them, taking up his normal position leaning against one of the walls. "If you had to call out your bitbeast or activate your spin gear, you lost."

"Ah that makes sense!" Chief smiled, "I thought it was strange that you'd be doing basic drills, and then doing battles using your bitbeasts. Going completely back to basics must make things more difficult."

"It does. It shows how much we rely on our bitbeasts when we battle and how much we take for granted." Ray agreed, looking between the pair that had been missing. "After the first couple of days Max and I had a battle with Drigger and Draciel; some of the things that were difficult before were…well…"

"They were really easy; it seemed like they responded faster and understood what we wanted them to do easier because we'd done it without them." The blonde finished for him, the dark haired male thankful for the help.

"It would; if you know how to control your beyblade without relying on your bitbeast, your bitbeast will just improve that control so it responds faster." Kenny stated, clearly impressed with the idea. "I'll have to get some video so I can see how much of a difference it's made."

Tyson still seemed sceptical of the idea but the Chief's excitement at the news prompted the world champion to stay silent, with proof of whether or not it actually worked bound to come tomorrow when they witnessed a battle.

"Since you two have missed training the last few days, I'll wake you both up early so you can get a head start _before _you make breakfast." The slate haired male stated, earning a small groan from the world champion.

"Come on Chief, might pay to get some sleep before we get dragged out of bed in the morning." The blue haired male muttered, walking off toward the room the team had been sleeping in.

"Night guys." Kenny smiled, following suit.

The remaining trio sat silently in the lounge for several moments, waiting for any indication that one of the pair would be returning just as quickly as they'd left. When they heard nothing, the neko-jin was the first to act, moving to lay down with his head in Max's lap. It was a rather simple movement as they'd been seated on the same couch. "We could tell Kenny."

"We could." Kai agreed, moving to sit on the ground alongside Max. "But we should probably leave it for a little while." He smiled as the blonde started running a hand through his hair; an unfamiliar feeling but still very relaxing.

"I kind of wish they weren't going to be here tomorrow so we could relax some more." The blonde sighed, smiling as the slate haired male rested his head against his leg. "Do we really have to train tomorrow?"

"Yes, but you two will get a decent sleep in." Kai smirked, closing his eyes.

The trio sat in a comfortable silence for several moments just enjoying one another's company while Tyson and Kenny slept several rooms away. Max had taken up running a hand through both of his companions' hair, and the dark haired male was unable to stop a low growl of satisfaction from escaping him.

"Kai…Ray…are you two going to go back to dressing like normal tomorrow?" the blue eyed male asked softly, the pair turning to look at him.

"You mean me binding my hair back and Kai putting his paint back on?" Ray questioned, earning a nod from Max. "Probably; why?"

"It's just…you look more relaxed the way you are now." The blonde stated, earning a smile from the older males.

Kai pondered the statement for several moments before answering, careful about his choice of words. "We're more relaxed because we have you and each other Max; clothing will go back to normal tomorrow, but any time the other two are away for an evening we'll go back to being like this, okay?"

"Okay." Max agreed, looking at the pair. He sighed before speaking again, clearly not really wanting to say it. "As much as I'm enjoying sitting here with you two…shouldn't we be heading to bed?"

Despite their grumbling, the two older teens knew he was right. Kai stood first and helped Ray to his feet, pulling the male swiftly into a firm embrace and claiming his lips in a hot kiss. The blue eyed male watched with fascination from the couch, his cheeks taking on a pink tinge

As the slate haired male released his ebony haired boyfriend, he turned to the blonde and pulled him into a similar embrace, Max gasping slightly as Kai kissed him firmly. Finally releasing the younger of his two boyfriends, he pulled both into a brief hug, enjoy their combined warmth. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

* * *

Training for the next two weeks proceeded largely like it always had; Hilary turned up on occasion to make sure her boyfriend wasn't slacking off, forcing him to keep up with Kai on some of the hottest days. Ming Ming visited almost as frequently, joining in on their training most visits which thankfully evened out their numbers.

They'd finally received contact from Daichi in the form of a letter, the redheaded male explaining he wouldn't be back in time for the next tournament and he'd send another letter when he knew further details of his return.

And, although Kai had been frustrated that Tyson and Kenny were blowing off practice to be with their girlfriends, having them around all the time meant he rarely had time to spend alone with his boyfriends. It was grating on his nerves to the point where he wanted to drag both Ray and Max off to a secluded motel in Russia so the three of them could be alone.

The universe, it seemed, was feeling kind. Hilary and Ming Ming turned up early one morning, managing to catch the team before training matches started for the day, and requested to talk to Kai alone. The slate haired male obliged, ordering the rest of the team to continue with practice matches while he was gone.

"What is it?" he asked, attempting to keep the snappiness from his voice.

"Well we were wondering if we could steal our boyfriends away…" the aqua haired girl began, her voice trailing off quickly under the gaze of the Russian.

Hilary was quick to pick up the request. "For a trip we were thinking of planning-"

"How long?"

"They'd miss a week of training, maybe two at the most." The brunette informed him, somewhat surprised at his sudden interruption.

The ruby eyed male stood pondering the suggestion for several minutes; Tyson and Kenny would be gone for at least a week, which would mean a week of just him, Ray and Max doing whatever they saw fit. It was a seriously tempting proposal. "Starting when?"

"…tomorrow?" Ming Ming stated meekly, both girls flinching as they expected a negative response from the male.

"Fine. Tell them to go and pack; I don't need them distracted during training." The slate haired male stated, turning and heading back to the team. He'd managed to keep his temper firm and interest in the idea silent. The girls still seemed stunned at the receiving approval, but soon enough they raced past and practically jumped on their boyfriends with squeals of excitement.

The sudden distraction caused both males to lose their respective matches against Ray and Max, who stood blinking at their opponents. "What's going on?" the neko-jin asked curiously, looking at the two girls.

"Kai agreed to let us drag Tyson and Kenny off on holiday for a week!" Hilary stated happily, still grinning as the gaze of all four males turned to the stoic captain, who didn't react.

"Come on, we need to go and pack; Kai doesn't want you two distracted by it while you're training." Ming Ming purred, pulling the short brunette toward the dojo, the other couple following quickly.

The black haired male waited until the quartet was out of earshot before turning to the slate haired male. "You're letting them go on holiday?" he hissed, glaring at the male.

"Yes; they fuck off for a week and we…" Kai moved to stand between them, wrapped an arm around each male's waist and used his new grip to pull them close. "We get to spend a week alone together with no possible interruptions."

The blonde pouted up at him. "But I want to go on holiday…"

"Kai's taking us on holiday to Hawaii once Tyson's grandfather gets back." Ray assured him, the slate haired teen blinking at the sudden firm guarantee.

"I am?"

"You are. And we're not training at all while we're gone."

Max laughed happily at the plans, planting a swift kiss on each of the two male's cheeks. "I'm looking forward to it. Now I'm going to start lunch!" Bounding over toward the dojo, the blonde was oblivious to the glare the team captain was giving their black haired boyfriend.

The neko-jin blinked up at the male, cocking his head to one side as the male continued his half-hearted glare. "What?"

"Hawaii?Really?" the ruby eyed male questioned, receiving a sharp nod. "And when did I put you in charge of making holiday plans?"

Grinning, Ray pulled him into a brief but firm kiss. "You say that but we both know you're not going to make a liar of me and disappoint Maxie. That and you're just as excited about having us alone in a tropical paradise as he is."

Kai grinned at the comment and released him, following the youngest of their threesome into the dojo to help with lunch. It was something they'd become accustomed to; the three of them would sort lunch while Tyson and Kenny continued to train; even after two weeks they weren't quite caught up.

"Why are you letting them go, Kai? You've said yourself that neither of them had caught up on training." Max questioned, his bright blue eyes turning on the slate haired captain. The blonde had already retrieved all the ingredients for lunch and was holding a rather large knife as he watched the older male.

The ruby eyed male was somewhat wary of his slightly younger boyfriend; Max had become scarily skilled with a knife just from his cooking practice in the kitchen to the point that the Russian was becoming concerned. "Because their girlfriends would drive me insane if I said no, because they stopped seriously focusing on training three days ago." he stated before closing the gap between them and pulling the blonde firmly back against his chest, locking his hands across his abdomen. His lips next to the male's ear, he smirked as he whispered the final statement. "And because I'm sick of having to keep my hands off of you and Ray."

A familiar pair of arms encircled the Russian, trapping him between the pair. "Really? I thought it was just me." The neko-jin purred, resting his head against Kai's shoulder.

"As comfortable as I'm sure you two are, we still have lunch to make." Kai smirked, earning small groans from the pair, though Ray none the less released the Russian, who in turn released the American. "So what are we making?"

"Pizza!" Max chirped happily, handing the knife to Kai and fetching another two; one for himself and one for Ray. "Come on you two, we still have training this afternoon, and we can do _that _sort of thing tomorrow."

The comment drew smirks from both of the older males, but they none the less agreed and set to work cutting up the variety of vegetables and meats their boyfriend had retrieved from various places in the kitchen. Max was right; they could hold off for one more night.

* * *

"Bye Kenny! Bye Tyson!" Max yelled happily, waving to the two males as the pair were half dragged down the street by their girlfriends to ensure they wouldn't miss their bus.

"Have fun on your holiday!" Ray chimed in, grinning as the group disappeared from sight. Their ever stoic team captain had opted to shower rather than see them off. With the quartet well out of sight, the neko-jin turned to his slightly shorter blonde companion and pulled him into a gentle kiss. "Come on, let's go see if Kai's out of the shower."

Blushing, the younger male followed his lead and the pair worked their way through the house, though Max quickly became side-tracked as the smell of pancakes reached his nose, steering him toward the kitchen. "I think he's making breakfast."

Sure enough as they entered the kitchen, the pale older teen standing shirtless in front of the stove, towel draped around his neck as he flipped pancakes onto a plate. "You should do that more often." Ray smirked, startling the blue haired male from his thoughts. "It's a good look for you."

Without the blue shark fins on his face his sudden blush was much easier to see, prompting a giggle from the youngest of their trio. "Shut up you two; breakfast's almost ready, and then you need to decide what we're doing now that we have the house to ourselves."

"I wanna build a fort!"


End file.
